•J 


[^ 


I 


ac^ 


Itheological  seminary, 

Princeton,  N.  J/ '3"^ 


<*--— ■'ec' 


^^53  ♦ 


^^^^  BX  5995  ,H6  M382  1836 

McVickar,  John,  1787-1868. 
The  professional  years  of 
John  Henry  Hobart 


•^vi^^^S^L,^  <^ 


!Vl»^^i 


/r. 


ytimm.    /i^f 


I 


THE 


PROFESSIONAL     YEARS 


BISHOP    HOBART. 


TOR 


PROFESSIONAL   YEARS 


JOHN   HENRY   HOBART,  D.D 


BEING  A  SECIUEL 


EARLY    YEARS' 


BY    JOHN    McVICKAR,     D.D 


PRO    ECCLB3IA     DSI. 


N  E  W  -  Y  O  R  K  : 

PRINTED    AT    THE    PROTESTANT    EPISCOPAL    PRKSB. 
H  DCCC  xixvr. 


I 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  J836,  bj 
JOHN   McVICKAR,   D.  D., 

In  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  tlie  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface, page      liii 

CHAPTER  1. 

From  date  of  Ordination,  3d  June,  1798,  in  the  22d  year  of 
his  age,  until  Removal  to  New  -  York,  December,  1800. 


Pastoral  Charge  of  the  Churches  at  Oxford  and  Perkiomen — 
Affecting  Incident — Letters  from  College  Friends — Removal 
to  Brunswick — Resignation — Marriage  with  Miss  Chandler — 
Rev.  Dr.  Chandler — Life — Services — Death — Mr.  Hobart'a 
Removal  to  Hempstead — Call  to  New- York,  September  8th, 
1800 — Letter  to  Mercer — Traits  of  Character,        .        page 


CHAPTER   II. 

Prom  his  Removal  to  the  City  in  December,  1800,  to  thejirst  of 
his  Publications  in  1803  ;  from  the  25th  to  the  28th  year  qf 
his  age. 

Trinity  Church — Early  History — Actual  Condition — Style  and 
Estimate  of  Mr.  Hobart  as  a  Preacher — Styles  of  Preaching — 
His  Performance  of  Pastoral  Duties — Domestic  Establishment 
— Anecdotes  of  Kindness — Habits  of  Study — Official  Duties  in 
General  and  State  Conventions,  ....  paga  10 
A  2 


VI  CONTENT  S. 

CHAPTER   III. 

From  1803  to  1801— 2Sth  to  32d  year  of  his  age. 


Period  of  his  chief  didactic  Publications,  viz.  Treatise  on  the 
Nature  and  Constitution  of  the  Christian  Church — Companion 
for  the  Altar — Style — Criticism  upon  it — Character  it  displays 
— Companion  for  the  Festivals  and  Pasts — Church  Catechism 
broken  into  short  Questions  and  Answers — Examination  of  his 
Views  of  Religious  Education — Companion  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer — The  Clergyman's  Companion,      .        page        57 


CHAPTER  IV. 
A.  D.  1805  —  u^t.  30. 


Controversy  forced  upon  Mr.  Hobart — Early  History  and  Con- 
dition of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Colonies — 
Desolation  produced  by  the  War  of  the  Revolution — Difficulties 
which  followed  it — Dissensions — Steps  for  obtaining  the  Epis- 
copate— Dr.  Seabury — Scotch  Bishops — Bishops  White  and 
Provoost— State  of  the  Church  when  Mr.  Hobart  entered  it — 
Justification  of  his  Course, page        76 


CHAPTER  V. 
A.D.  1803—^^.23. 


Letters — to  Rev.  Dr.  Boucher — Sketch  of  Life  and  Character 
— to  his  friend  Mercer — Series  of  Letters  to  Mr.  How — Board 
of  Trustees  of  Columbia  College — ]Mr.  Hobart's  Election  into 
it — Members — Division — Rev.  Dr.  Mason — Character— Con- 
tests in  the  Board,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         page         99 


CONTENTS.  VII 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Object  of  Mr.  Hobart  in  his  Publications — Attacked  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Linn — '  Miscellanies  ' — Answered  by  Mr.  Hobart  and  others 
— '  Collection  of  Essays,'  &c. — Reviewed  in  the  '  Christian 
Magazine' — 'Apology  for  Apostolic  Order  and  its  Advocates' 
— Justification  of  Manner — Character  of  Dr.  Mason — Eiami- 
nation  of  the  Argument — Result  of  it  upon  the  Church — 
Letters, page      129 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Letters  from  1803  to  1808. 


Letter  from  Governor  Jay — Call  to  St..  Paul's  Church,  Phila- 
delphia— Interesting  Incident  of  a  Conversion  to  the  Romish 
Church — Influence  over  the  Young — Letters — Dr.  Berrian 
— Mr.  A.  McV.  —  Mr.  Hovr  —  Anecdote  of  General  Ham- 
ilton,                page       151 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Prom  1806  to  1810 — 31."^  to  3bth  year  of  his  age. 


Ministerial  Education — Protestant  Episcopal  Theological  Society 
— Character  and  Influence — '  Churchman's  Magazine,'  esta- 
blishment— Principles — Mr.  Hobart's  Habits  of  Business — 
Church  Music — Mr.  Hobart's  Love  of  Music — Affairs  of  the 
College — Election  of  Dr.  Mason  as  Provost — Bible  and  Com- 
mon Prayer-book  Society — Objects — Earliest  Sermon  pub- 
lished, of  Mr.  Hobart,  'The  Excellence  of  the  Church'— 
Examination  of  its  Principles,  ....         page       170 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
A.  D.  1810  —  JEt.  35. 


Canonical  Condition  of  the  Diocese — Bishop  Provoost — Char- 
acter and  Policy  —  Resignation  —  Decision  of  the  House  of 
Bishops  —  Examination  of  that  Decision  —  Bishop  Moore — 
Character — Influence — Election  of  Bishop  Hobart — Diflicul- 
ties  attending  the  Consecration — Bishop  White's  Feelings 
toward  him, page       195 


CHAPTER    X. 
A.D.  1811— ^^  36. 


Controversies  before  and  after  his  Election — Rev.  Cave  Jones 
— Character — '  Solemn  Appeal ' — Result — Claim  of  Bishop 
Provoost — How  settled — Decision  of  the  Convention — Separa- 
tion of  Mr.  Jones  from  Trinity  Church — His  latter  Years,  page      212 


CHAPTER  XL 
A.  D.  1811  —  ^t.  36. 


Annoyances  of  anonymous  Critics — Letter  to  the  Author — Letter 
from  Dr.  KoUock — His  subsequent  History — General  Char- 
acter of  Episcopate  from  1813 — Amount  and  Variety  of  Duties 
— Pastoral  Charge — Letter  to  a  Member  of  his  Church — Epis- 
copal Charge — Interest  taken  in  the  Missionaries — Anecdote 
— Kindness  of  Heart — Rev.  Mr.  Buckley — Letter  in  relation  (o 
the  Scheme  of  a  new  religious  Magazine,  .         .         page       223 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XII. 
A.  D.  1813  —  jEt.  38. 


Duties  performed  in  1813 — Address  to  the  Convention — Thres 
leading  Points  of  Policy,  1.  Missionary  Cause;  2.  Observance 
of  the  Liturgy ;  3.  Ministerial  Education — Letter  to  Mrs.  S. 
on  the  Subject — Theological  Grammcir  School — Objects — 
Failure — Letters — Col.  Troup— C.  F.  Mercer,         .        page      244 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
A.  D.  1814  — ^i.  39. 


General  Convention — Motion  for  a  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary opposed  by  Bishop  Hobart — Reasons — Standing  and 
Influence  in  that  Body — Sermon  preached  at  its  Opening — 
Review  of  it — Sentiments  touching  the  Church  of  England — 
General  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church — 
Prospects — Rite  of  Confirmation — Administered  at  Hyde  Park 
— Influence — Eulogium  on  the  Prayei*-book — Letters — C.  F. 
Mercer — President  Smith,        •        .        .        .        .        page      270 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
A.  D.  1815  —  ^t.  40. 


Convention — Missionary  Cause — Outcry  against  Bishop  Hobart 
as  an  Enemy  to  Foreign  Missions  —  Explanation  —  Oneida 
Indians — Mr.  Williams — History — Bible  and  Common  Prayer- 
book  Societies — '  Pastoral  Charge '  on  the  subject — Letter  to 
Episcopalians — Charges  against  Bishop  Hobart — Explana- 
tion,           page      298 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
A.  D.  1815  —  JEt.  40. 

Formation  of  Church  Societies — Their  Objects  and  Influence — 
Bishop  Hobart's  Zeal  for  them — The  Principle  on  which  they 
were  founded — Tract  Society — Character  of  its  Tracts — Pas- 
toral Charge  on  the  Christian  Ministry — Frequency  of  Bishop 
Hobart's  Instructions  on  this  Point  justified — Peculiar  Traits 
of  Character — His  Notion  of  the  Church  explained  and  \'in- 
dicated — Publication  of  the  '  Christian's  Manual ' — Ejaculatory 
Prayer — Prayers  in  the  Language  of  the  Liturgy,      .      page      833 

CHAPTER  XVL 
A.D.  1816—^/.  41. 


Death  of  Bishop  Moore — Funeral  Address — Eulogium — EJssay 
on  State  of  departed  Spirits — Reputation  as  a  Biblical  Critic 
—  Article  on  the  Creed — Various  Opinions — Letter  to  Bishop 
White — His  Opinions — Letter  of  Bishop  Skinner — Bishop 
Hobart's  Views  of  the  Church  of  Scotland — Letters  from  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie — Archdeacon  Strachan — Candidate  for 
Confirmation  instructed — Prejudice  against  Bishop  Hobart's 
Views  of  Regeneration — Explained  and  Defended — Oneida 
Indians,  >.....,,.        page      355 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
A.D.   1817  — yE^  42. 


Affairs  of  the  College — Dr.  Mason's  Provostship — Causes  of 
Failure — Abolition  of  the  Office — Presidency  of  Dr.  Harris — 
Character — Bishop  Hobart  and  Dr.  Mason  compared — Traits 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

of  Character  ezhibited  by  Bishop  Hobart  in  the  Board  of 
Trustees — Anecdotes  illustrative — Character  as  given  by  the 
Rev.  W.  R.  W. — Visitation  of  the  Diocese — Letter  from  Dr. 
Butler — Adroiration  of  Nature — Brevity  of  Visits — Rapidity — 
Duties  in  the  Diocese  of  New -Jersey  ;  of  Connecticut — 
Acknowledgment, page        384 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
A.  D.  1817  —  JEt.  42. 


Second  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  '  The  Corruptions  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  '  —  Death  of  Dr.  Bowden  —  Character  —  Death  of 
Bishop  Dehon — Character — State  of  the  College — Letter  from 
Rufus  King — Anonymous  Note — Letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn  , 
— Letters  from  and  to  Dr.  Smith  ;  to  Dr.  Berrian — Painful 
Letters  from  an  old  Friend — Letter  from  Dr.  Strachan,  Nor- 
ris,  &c.— Theological  Seminary — Endowment — Address  be- 
fore the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society — Interest  in  Sunday 
schools — Address, page      407 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
A.D.  1818—^^.  43. 


Address  to  Convention — Painful  Duty — Mr.  How — Letter  to 
Dr.  Berrian — Oneida  Indians — Letter  to  the  Bishop — His 
Answer — Visits  them — Interesting  Scene — Aged  Mohawk 
Warrior — Young  Onondaga — Visit  of  the  Author — Prosper- 
ous Condition  of  the  Diocese  —  Religious  Revivals  ;  the 
Bishop's  Opinion  :  their  Result — Bishop  Hobart's  Explana- 
tion of  Evangelical  Preaching,       446 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XX. 
A.  D.  1819— ^i.  44. 


Letter  from  Rev.  H.  H.  Norris — Mant  and  D'Oyley's  Family 
Bible  —  Defects  —  Bishop  Hobart's  Labors  in  it— General 
Views  of  a  Bible  Commentary — Bishop  Hobart  in  Retirement 
— ^Visit  to  the  Short  Hills — His  Occupations — Second  Visit  to 
the  Oneidas — Address  to  the  Convention — Influence  of  a  Gift 
of  a  Prayer-book — Charge  to  the  Clergy — '  The  Churchman  ' 
— Extracts  on  the  '  Liberality  of  the  Age' — Resignation  of  the 
Charge  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut — Conseoration  of  Bishop 
Brownell, .        page      47S 


PREFACE. 


A  VOLUME  of  the  Professional  Life  of  Bishop 
Hobart,  as  promised  in  his  *  Early  Years,'  is 
now  put  forth,  though  with  unfeigned  diffi- 
dence, for  many  and  obvious  reasons.  The 
subject  and  its  events  are  too  well  known  for 
the  interest  of  biography,  and  too  recent  for  the 
freedom  of  history.  It  is  a  story  too  which  can 
hardly,  now  at  least,  be  told,  without  compro- 
mitting  both  names  and  questions,  in  a  .way 
not  easy  to  avoid  reviving  old  offence  or  giving 
new — and,  perhaps,  too,  some  may  think,  of 
awakening  controversies  in  the  Church  which 
are  now  at  rest,  and  had  better  be  left  in  silence. 
Still,  however,  the  narrative  is  put  forth,  and,  as 
a  lover  of  peace,  the  author  feels  himself  bound 
to  state,  in  few  words,  his  justification. 

It  is,  then,  in  the  hope  that  the  good  result- 
ing will  not  merely  overbalance,  but,  in  great 
measure,  neutralize  the  evil  that  is  dreaded — 
that  the  history  of  theological  controversy,  if 
rightly  given,  will  be  found  to  teach  the  lesson, 
not  of  division  but  of  unity  ;  of  kindness,  not  of 
contest.     It  maybe,  too,  that  by  viewing  dia- 


i 


XIV  '  PREFACE. 

puted   questions    from   the    higher    and    more 
peaceful  ground  on  which  we  now  stand,  the 
very  memory  of  offences  may  be  rooted  up,  by 
showing  that    they   originated  in    mistake    or 
misconception.     It   may  be,    too,   that  such   a 
narrative,  instead  of  reviving  doctrinal  disputes, 
concerning   the    nature    and    ministry   of    the 
Church,  will  exhibit  these  questions  as  lying, 
necessarily,  at  the  basis  of  a  Church  rising,  as 
ours  did  into  notice,  in  the  midst  of  much  igno- 
rance and  many  prejudices  ;  thus  showing  that 
the  time  for  such  discussions  is  comparatively 
passed,    and   that,   leaving   these,    its   founda- 
tions, we  are  now  called  upon  to  devote  our- 
selves, in  a  purer  air,  it  may  be  said,  and  with 
less  encumbered   hands,   to  raising  higher  the 
superstructure  of  Christian  faith  and  practice ; 
and,   finally,   it  may   be  that   the    opinions    of 
many,  both  in  the  Church  and  out  of  it,  will 
undergo,    in   the   perusal   of  this   narrative,   a 
change  in  relation  to  Bishop   Hobart's  course 
and   policy,    when   they   come   to   review   the 
questions   then    agitated   by    the    light    which 
subsequent  experience  has  thrown  upon  them; 
and,  to  enable  the  reader  to  do  this  for  himself, 
the  language   of  Bishop  Hobart    is  generally 
laid  before   him,  and  a  comparison  with  well 
known  results,  occasionally,  either  drawn  out 
or  suggested. 


PREFACE.  X7 

But  the  narrative  is  also  intended  to  be  a 
domestic  one.  It  has,  therefore,  been  the  aim 
of  his  biographer  to  exhibit  Bishop  Hobarl,  not 
only  as  the  ruler,  but,  as  the  man  and  the 
Christian  ;  and  to  interweave,  with  the  loftier 
features  of  the  one  the  lovelier  traits  of  the 
other.  He  has,  therefore,  painted  him  as  in 
life  he  knew  him,  full  of  benevolence  as  well 
as  zeal,  and  as  condescending  as  he  was  fear- 
less ;  uniting  the  warm  heart  and  the  open 
hand,  and  the  kind  manners  of  the  humble, 
cheerful  Christian  companion  with  the  daunt- 
less spirit  and  uncompromising  love  of  truth  that 
should  distinguish  him  who  is  called  to  govern 
or  to  teach. 

With  a  view  to  unite  these  two  pictures,  the 
one  personal,  the  other  official,  it  has  been  the 
author's  aim  to  make  the  former  serve  as  it 
were,  as  a  frame-work  to  the  latter ;  or,  rather, 
as  the  canvass  and  ground  on  which  his  policy 
and  sentiments  were  to  be  wrought  and  woven, 
in  order  that  incident  miglit  give  interest  to 
doctrine,  and  doctrine  give  importance  to  inci- 
dent, and  the  whole  become,  to  the  rising 
generation  of  the  clergy  of  our  Church,  a 
pleasing  and  instructive  manual  of  the  minis- 
terial character. 

This,  however,  the  author  is  prompt  to  ac- 
knowledge, was  but  the  idea  that  occasionally 


XVI  PREFACE. 

flitted  before  his  mind  of  what  might  be  effected, 
with  the  materials  he  held,  by  talents  and  know- 
ledge suited  to  the  task,  and  the  command  of 
competent  leisure.  For  himself,  he  was  well 
aware,  not  only  that  the  ability  to  realize  it, 
under  any  circumstances,  lay  beyond  him,  but, 
also,  that  he  was  further  disqualified  for  such  an 
undertaking,  by  being  enabled  to  devote  to  it  only 
such  hasty  snatches  of  leisure  as  were  afforded 
by  a  busy  as  well  as  an  academic  life.  But 
still,  with  all  its  imperfections,  he  puts  it  forth, 
confident  that  he  aims  at  good — trusting,  under 
a  higher  guidance,  in  some  degree  to  attain  it — 
and  deeply  anxious  to  pay,  in  such  manner  as 
he  may,  to  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a 
minister,  or,  rather,  (with  reverence  be  it 
spoken,)  to  its  great  spiritual  Head,  some 
small  portion  of  that  debt  of  consecrated  powers 
which  academic  duties  have  hitherto,  perhaps, 
too  much  withdrawn  from  their  rightful  desti- 
nation. 

Columbia  College,  March  10,  1836. 


MEMOIR 


CHAPTER   I. 

Prom  date  of  Ordination,  3d  June,  1798,  in  the  23d  year  of 
his  age,  until  removal  to  New-  York,  December,  1800. 

Pastoral  Charge  of  the  Churches  at  Oxford  and  Perkiomen — Affecting 
Incident — Letters  from  College  Friends — Removal  to  Brunswick — 
Resignation — Marriage  with  Miss  Chandler — Rev.  Dr.  Chandler — 
Life — Services — Death — Mr.  Hobart's  Removal  to  Hempstead — Call 
to  New- York,  September  8th,  1800— Letter  to  Mercer — Traits  of 
Character. 

On  the  Sunday  immediately  following-  his 
ordination,  which  took  place  3d  June,  1798, 
Mr.  Hobart  entered  upon  his  ministerial  duties: 
they  consisted  in  the  charge  of  two  small 
country  churches,  viz.  Trinity,  Oxford,  and  All 
Saints,  Perkiomen,  distant,  the  one  about  ten, 
the  other  thirteen  miles  from  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. The  object  of  Bishop  White  in  thus 
stationing  him,  as  given  in  his  own  words, 
conveys  a  high  compliment  to  his  young  friend  : 
*  It  was  very  near  to  my  heart,'  says  he,  *  that  he 
should  be  settled  so  close  to  me  as  to  be  easily 
transferred  to  any  vacancy  that  might  happen 
in  the  ministry  of  the  churches  of  which  I  am 

B 


2  MEMOIROF 

rector,  or  to  add  to  our  number  (in  the  city)  in 
the  event  of  building  a  new  church,  which  was 
then  in  contemplation.' 

One  of  these  rural  parishes  possessed  the  in- 
terest of  what  we  must,  in  our  recent  history, 
term  high  antiquity.  The  congregation  at 
Oxford  was  one  of  the  earliest  organized  in  the 
middle  colonies,  being  founded  by  the  labors  of 
the  Rev.  George  Kirk,  a  convert  from  the  Qua- 
kers, who  was  sent  out  by  the  Society  in  Eng- 
land a  general  travelling  missionary  as  early 
as  1702,  previous  to  the  appointment  of  any 
local  ones  in  this  country.  His  missionary 
field  was  the  continent  of  British  North  Ame- 
rica ;  his  allowance  2001.  a  year ;  he  accom- 
plished his  mission  in  two  years,  and  Oxford 
was  among  the  fruits  of  them.* 

In  this  scene  of  humble  duty  Mr.  Hobart 
continued  to  labor  until  the  end  of  the  year,  as 
already  stipulated,  f  How  successfully,  might 
be  conjectured  from  the  exhibition  of  character 
this  narrative  has  already  afforded.  The  surest 
pledge  is  to  be  found  in  the  deep  sense  of  re-^ 
sponsibility  vmder  which  he  had  entered  upon 
them ;  the  language,  however,  of  one  who  fol- 
lowed  him,   affords    a  more   direct   testimony. 

♦  History  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  For- 
'eign  Parts,  by  Dr.  Humphreys,  Secretary,  &c. 
t  Early  Years,  p.  233. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  3 

'  His  congregations,'  says  the  Rev.  George 
Sheets,  'were  crowded,  his  pulpit  talents  greatly 
esteemed,  and  his  person  much  beloved.  I  have 
conversed  with  several  old  parishioners  who 
have  a  perfect  recollection  of  him  —  they  all 
loved  him  much,  and  greatly  admired  his 
preaching.'  But  his  rising  merit  was  soon  ac- 
knowleds^ed  bv  others. 

He  had  hardly  entered  upon  his  station 
before  he  was  solicited  to  quit  it.  A  call  was 
given  him  as  an  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Magaw,  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia. 
The  letter  by  which  the  invitation  was  con- 
veyed, was  in  the  name  of  the  rector  and 
congregation,  and  concludes  with  these  urgent 
words  of  entreaty  —  '  We  trust  that  you  will 
come  in  the  fullness  of  the  blessing  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  The  harvest  is  great,  but 
the  faithful  laborers  are  few,  therefore,  "  come 
down  and  help  us."'  Though  Mr.  Hobart's 
answer  is  not  preserved,  its  tenor  may  be  con- 
jectured, since  we  know  from  the  result  that  the 
offer  was  not  accepted  ;  declined,  most  proba- 
bly, on  the  grounds  already  expressed  by  him,  of 
unwillingness  to  enter  so  soon  on  the  absorbing 
labors  of  a  large  city  church. 

In  the  mean  time,  his  college  intimacies, 
though  broken,  were  not  forgotten  —  scattered 
though  they  were,  his  was  not  a  heart  lightly 


4  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

to  sever  such  ties  ;  and  we  consequently  find 
among  his  papers  traces  of  an  ample  correspond- 
ence, by  degrees,  however,  narrowing  down  to 
those  nearest  to  him  in  affection  or  pursuits  in 
life. 

In  the  latter  class  we  find  several  who  had 
entered  the  ministry  of  other  denominations, 
seeking  from  him  advice,  or  thanking  him  for 
past  kindness.  As  usual,  we  have  but  few  of 
his  own,  and  must  gather  our  knowledge  of 
their  contents,  as  it  were,  by  reflected  light. 

FROM  THE  REV.  11.  KOLLOCK. 

*  Nfissau  Hall,  June  llth,  1798. 

I  have  too  long  neglected  to  answer  your  agreeable 
letter,  but  you  know  that  our  resolutions  on  this  subject 
are  often  unavoidably  broken  within  the  walls  of  a 
college,  though  our  affection  may  remain  undiminished. 

I  have  at  length  finished  Patrick  and  begun  Lowth. 
The  former  is  like  a  desolate  field,  where  the  soil  may 
produce  some  valuable  plants,  but  all  the  surrounding 
scenery  appears  unengaging;  whilst  the  latter  resem- 
bles those  fields  of  Arabia  which  he  describes,  where 
the  lofty  cedar,  the  medicinal  balm,  and  the  fragrant 
flower  bloom  beside  each  other.  I  think,  however,  that 
he  is  too  lavish  of  his  corrections  of  the  sacred  text ;  for 
though  some  of  them  are  absolutely  necessary,  yet  I  do 
not  think  that  any  should  be  introduced  merely  to  cause 
a  parallelism  of  the  lines,  or  to  add  to  the  beauty  of  an 
expression.  It  is  of  too  much  consequence  to  establish 
the  belief  of  Christians,  concerning  the  general  authen- 
ticity of  the  Scriptures,  to  permit  such  freedom. 


BISHOPHOBART.  5 

I  suppose  that  by  this  time,  my  dear  friend,  you  have 
become  a  minister  of  Christ.  I  pray  God  that  you 
may  be  happy,  zealous,  and  successful ;  that  the  blessed 
spirit  of  grace  may  rest  upon  you,  and  make  your 
preaching  efficacious  for  arresting  the  presumptuous 
and  deluded  sinner;  for  pouring  consolation  into  the 
wounded  conscience,  and  for  building  up  the  saints  in 
holiness  and  faith.  May  you  pass  through  this  life 
supported  by  your  Saviour  ;  and  when  you  stand  before 
his  tribunal  to  render  your  final  account,  may  you  see 
many  souls  who  have  been  converted  by  your  ministry, 
and  who  shall  be  crowns  of  your  everlasting  rejoicing. 
Oh !  my  friend,  may  we  both  meet  there,  and,  though 
bearing  different  names  here  below,  may  we  both  be 
interested  in  the  salvation  of  the  common  Redeemer. 

Henry  Kollock.' 


FROM  MR.  D.  COMFORT. 

'  Mapleto7i,  June  20th,  1798. 
Dear  Sir, 

The  period  is  not  far  distant,  when  it  is  expected  1 
will  appear  in  a  more  public  capacity  than  at  present. 
In  September  the  Presbytery  expect  to  license  me  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  They  may,  perhaps,  be  willing  to 
do  it,  but  to  me  it  is  frequently  a  doubt  whether  in 
duty  I  ought  to  apply  for  it.  The  nearer  it  approaches, 
the  more  important  it  appears,  and  the  more  diffident 
do  I  feel  to  undertake  the  sacred  office.  I  can  perceive 
so  much  corruption  and  depravity  still  existing  within, 
and  so  little  holiness  and  real  religion,  that  I  am  fre- 
quently almost  discouraged.  I  still,  however,  hope 
these  doubts  and  difficulties  will  be  so  removed  that  I 
may  with  cheerfulness,  and  humble  boldness,  enter  into 

B2 


6  MEMOIROF 

the  service  of  the  blessed  Redeemer,  and  find,  by  expe- 
rience, "  his  yoke  to  be  easy  and  his  burthen  light." 

I  have  merely  heard  that  you  are  ordained  to  the 
work  of  the  Gospel  ministry,  as  you  expected,  without 
hearing  any  particulars.  I  hope  you  may  have  <he 
pleasure  of  seeing  the  work  of  the  Lord  prosper  under 
your  labors,  by  the  addition  of  many  members  to  his 
Church. 

The  melancholy  news  of  my  father's  death  has  borne 
heavy  upon  my  mind.  Although  from  his  age,  being 
more  than  seventy,  I  could  not  but  soon  expect  it,  yet 
there  seemed  no  doubt  on  my  mind  but  I  should  see 
him  once  more.  I  anticipated  the  joyful  meeting  after 
an  absence  of  nearly  two  years  ;  and  when  I  recollected 
my  own  feelings,  and  his  own  expressions  of  joy,  after 
an  absence  of  a  few  months,  the  idea  of  that  which  I 
trusted  was  not  far  distant  was  greatly  heightened. 
And  how  frequently  did  I  dwell  with  pleasure  on  the 
thought  of  having  it  in  my  power,  in  a  short  time,  of 
contributing  to  the  support  of  his  old  age,  and  the 
comfort  of  his  declining  years.  But  these  expectations 
are  all  blighted,  and  I  am  left  without  a  parent.  But 
"  mercy  is  always  mixed  with  judgment." 
Yours  affectionately, 

David  Comfort.' 


During  this  summer  the  yellow  fever  again 
prevailed  in  Philadelphia,  and  extended  to  the 
neighboring  villages;  this  summoned  him, during 
his  short  residence,  to  many  painful  calls  of 
duty,  to  some  of  which  allusion  is  made  in  his 
correspondence. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  7 

A  letter  to  his  friend  Mercer  touches  upon  one 
instance  which  appears  to  have  long  rested  on 
his  memory.  *  The  fever,'  says  he,  in  a  letter 
of  the  date  of  18th  September,  'rages  with  the 
greatest  violence  in  the  city ;  more  than  three- 
fourths,  it  is  thought,  of  the  inhabitants  have 
removed  to  the  country,  or  to  camps  on  the 
commons.  Nor  does  death  contine  his  ravages 
to  the  city — several  in  the  country  have  died, 
supposed  to  have  taken  the  fever  in  the  city. 
Among  these,  the  death  of  Miss  Breck,  and  of 
Miss  Westcott,  who  was  on  a  visit  to  her,  excites 
peculiar  interest.  They  died,  after  a  few  days' 
illness,  on  the  same  day.  I  was  at  the  house 
the  day  Miss  W.  died— went  with  the  corpse  to 
the  grave  between  eight  and  nine  in  the  evening 
— while  absent  there.  Miss  Breck  also  died,  and 
Avas  buried  before  morning.  Yet  these  affecting 
instances  of  mortality  seem  to  produce  very 
little  effect  upon  any  but  those  who  immediately 
suffer  by  them  in  their  friends  or  property.' 

That  he  himself  deeply  felt  this  sudden  visit- 
ation, and  was  unwilling  to  lose  the  impression 
of  it,  would  appear  from  the  careful  preservation 
among  his  papers,  of  the  following  little  note 
and  enclosure  from  the  surviving  sister,  dated 
the  following  day. 

'  Miss  Breck,  at  the  request  of  her  parents,  encloses'a 
note  of  supplication  and  thanks  to  Heaven,  to  be  read 


8  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

or  omitted,  as  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Hobart  shall  direct, 
at  the  Morning  Service.  When  Mr.  Hobart  can  with 
safety  visit  them.  Miss  B.  will  derive  much  consolation 
from  conversing  with  him  on  the  important  subject  of 
that  future  state,  whither  are  now  consigned  the  beloved 
sister  and  friend  of  her  heart. 
Sunday  Morning. 

The  enclosure  is  as  follows  : 

'  A  family  of  this  church  desire  to  return  thanks  to 
Almighty  God  for  his  divine  mercy  in  restoring  to  the 
hopes  of  safety  a  young  woman,  who  has  been  for 
many  days  dangerously  ill.  They  also  implore  his 
divine  assistance  to  enable  them  so  to  bear  their  late 
heavy  calamities,  as  shall  render  them  worthy  of  that 
Christian  faith  in  which  they  profess  to  believe.' 

Of  this  afflicted  family  no  further  records 
remain,  but  they  who  knew  the  ardor  and 
devotedness  of  their  young  pastor's  feelings  in 
after-life,  will  readily  conceive  that  no  pruden- 
tial scruples  kept  him  back  from  the  house  of 
mourning. 

In  answer  to  a  letter  communicating  this,  or 
some  similar  dispensation,  one  of  his  correspond- 
ents observes : 

'  I  condole  with  you.  May  we  look  from  secondary 
to  primary  causes,  and  may  the  judgments  of  God 
which  are  in  the  earth  lead  us  to  amend  our  lives,  and 
teach  us  righteousness.    He  alone  can  dissipate  the 


BISIIOPHOBART.  9 

darkness  of  our  minds,  dispel  the  clouds  of  sorrow 
which  afflict  us,  and  render  it  fruitful  and  salutary. 
With  this  short  letter  I  bid  you  farewell,  wishing  sin- 
cerely your  happiness.  May  peace  and  competency 
attend  you  on  earth,  and  everlasting  joy  await  you  in 
heaven. 

Your  sincere  friend, 

John  I.  Sayrs.' 

FROM  RET.  H.  KOLLOCK. 

'  Elizabethtown,  October  2ith,  1798. 

The  letter  of  my  dear  friend  would  not  have  remained 
so  long  unanswered,  had  not  a  fit  of  sickness  debarred 
me  from  the  use  of  my  pen ;  I  now  resume  it  for  the 
first  time  after  my  recovery. 

What  is  that  undefinable  charm  which  attaches  us 
so  strongly  to  the  scenes  of  our  youth,  and  so  highly 
endears  to  us  our  native  home  ?  Five  months  have 
swiftly  flown;  they  were  spent  with  friends  most  dear 
to  me,  and  in  occupations  most  pleasing,  yet  I  return 
with  joy  to  Elizabeth,  and  visit  with  delight  those 
places  which  recall  times  that  are  past. 

My  principal  study  during  the  last  session,  was 
"  Warburton's  Divine  Legation."  He  seems  to  have 
chosen  this  topic,  that  he  might  display  his  almost 
unlimited  knowledge,  since  there  is  scarcely  a  sub- 
ject of  science  which  he  has  not  introduced  into 
it.  He  abounds  with  much  rude  railing,  and  has  a 
number  of  very  singular  paradoxes,  but  his  leading 
proposition  is  proved  with  a  strength  of  argument 
which  is,  I  think,  irresistible.  Whatever  may  be  your 
opinion  of  his  primary  argument,  you  will  be  highly 
pleased  in  reading  him. 


10  MEMOIROF 

The  question  so  bitterly  agitated  between  our  churches, 
on  the  question  of  original  sin,  has  been  the  subject  of 
my  meditation  for  some  time  past ;  and  you  will,  per- 
haps, smile  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  found  myself 
obliged  to  renounce  the  sentiments  of  the  rigid  Calvin- 
ists.  The  doctrine  of  imputation,  as  held  by  them, 
appears  to  me  inconsistent  with  the  justice  of  God.  I 
can  very  readily  grant,  that  in  consequence  of  the  sin  of 
Adam,  mankind  should  become  subject  to  temporal 
death,  since  immortality  was  not  a  debt  but  a  free  gift) 
and  we  could  have  no  claim  to  it,  though  we  had 
remained  for  ever  innocent.  I  can  likewise  allow  that 
mankind  have  hence  received  a  moral  taint  and  infec- 
tion, by  which  they  have  a  propensity  to  sin ;  but  my 
mind  revolts  from  the  idea,  that  I  should  be  sentenced 
by  a  God  of  justice  and  mercy  to  an  eternity  of  misery, 
because  of  the  transgressions  of  one  who  sinned  before 
I  was  born,  and  in  a  capacity  of  knowing  or  hindering 
what  he  did.  On  this  ground  I  think  we  may  both 
meet. 

H has  left  Mrs.  Knox's,  and  taken  up  his  resi- 
dence in  a  solitary  hamlet  entirely  encircled  by  woods. 
He  thinks,  perhaps  he  thinks  with  propriety,  that  he 
can  there  cultivate  the  better  affections  of  his  nature, 
and  prosecute  his  studies  with  greater  advantage  than 
at  Princeton.  He  may  plead  Milton's  authority  for  the 
latter  part  of  his  sentiment,  who  very  elegantly  tells  us 
that 

"  Wisdom's  self 
Oft  seeks  to  sweet  retired  solitude, 
Where  with  her  best  nurse,  Contemplation, 
She  plumes  her  feathers,  and  lets  grow  her  wings 
That  in  the  various  bustle  of  resort 
Were  all  too  ruffled." 


B  I  S  II  O  P     II  0  B  ART.  11 

I  should  have  preferred  for  my  retreat,  however,  that 
season  when  all  nature  puts  on  an  aspect  of  cheerful- 
ness. But  I  believe  that  my  disposition  is  not  suffi- 
ciently romantic  to  be  invariably  pleased  with  retirement ; 
for,  after  the  novelty  of  the  landscape  has  ceased,  I 
have  beheld  them  with  a  sigh,  and  exclaimed,  "  The 
society  of  one  dear  friend  would  be  worth  them  all." 

H.    KOLLOCK.' 
JFROMIREV.  E.  GRANT. 

'  New -Brunswick,  December  20th,  1798. 
My  dear  Friend, 

The  receipt  of  your  afiectionate  letter  gave  me 
great  pleasure ;  I  had  been  long  wishing  to  know  where 
I  might  address  myself  to  you,  but  being  sent  to  and 
fro  through  the  upper  part  of  this  State,  all  last  sum- 
mer, I  could  get  no  information.  I  came  home,  how- 
ever, fully  determined  to  renew  our  correspondence,  and 
was  pleasingly  disappointed  to  find  that  your  goodness 
had  been  beforehand  with  me.  Your  professions  of 
regard,  my  dear  John,  I  can  sincerely  return.  I  assure 
you  no  day  passes  that  I  do  not  bear  you  in  frequent, 
pleasing,  and  affectionate  remembrance  on  my  mind.  I 
account  the  time  I  spent  at  Princeton  as  among  the 
most  agreeable  and  profitable  days  of  my  life,  and  your 
friendship  and  correspondence  as  among  its  most  profit- 
able and  agreeable  acquisitions. 

It  rejoices  me  to  hear  that  you  have  been  enabled  so 
soon  to  have  a  field  for  active  and  pious  exertion.  Your 
situation,  it  is  true,  like  that  of  others,  has  its  advan- 
tages and  its  disadvantages,  but  you  must  not  suffer 
the  latter  to  have  a  discouraging  influence.  '  That  they 
have  little  zeal ' — '  that  they  are  dispersed  ' — '  that  they 
are  intermixed  with  other  denominations,'  these  should 


12  M  E  I\I  0  I  R     O  F 

call  forth  all  your  energies  in  the  strength  of  your  God, 
to  win  them  over  to  become  the  willing  subjects  of  his 
peaceable  ifingdom  of  righteousness ;  while  their  dis- 
persed condition  will  serve  to  afford  you  that  exercise  of 
body  which  you  require.  It  is  indeed  an  arduous 
undertaking,  but  let  this  console  you  —  the  reward  is 
not  of  men  but  of  God,  to  the  faithful  minister  of  Jesus. 

The  want  of  religious  and  profitable  society  is  what 
clergymen  in  country  settlements  complain  of,  but  your 
vicinity  to  the  city  and  your  friends  in  some  measure 
compensates.  It  would  be  my  wish,  but  it  will  be  out 
of  my  power,  to  see  you  at  Princeton,  but  I  wish  you 
could  think  of  extending  your  journey  as  far  as  Bruns- 
wick— it  would  give  me  heartfelt  pleasure  to  see  and 
converse  with  you.  My  relish  for  the  continuance  and 
frequency  of  our  correspondence  is  as  strong  as  yours 
can  be,  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  you  will  not  find 
me  deficient  either  in  punctuality  or  affection. 

Your  undoubted  friend  and  brother  in  the  ministry  of 

Jesus, 

Eben.  Grant.' 

The  renewal  of  personal  intercourse  between 
these  attached  friends,  thus  longed  for,  was  nearer 
than  either  of  them  anticipated.  Within  one 
week  after  the  date  of  the  above  letter,  a  call 
from  the  church  at  the  very  place  where  his 
friend  resided  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Hobart,  and 
readily,  as  may  be  supposed,  accepted  by  him. 
Among  his  letters  of  personal  introduction  to 
the  place  was  one  from  his  Bishop,  introducing" 
him  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beach,  of  New-York,  whose 
summer  residence  was  at  New-Brunswick,  speak- 


BISHOPHOEART.  13 

ing  of  him  in  terms  of  paternal  affection,  as  one 
'  who  has  lately  entered  into  Orders  in  our 
Church,  with  the  general  expectation  of  all  who 
know  him  that  ^he  will  be  eminently  useful  in 
it.'  Letters  again  from  Dr.  Beach  introduced 
him  to  the  leading  members  of  his  parish,  so 
that  within  a  month  after  the  lamentations 
of  severed  friendship,  these  youthful  intimates 
not  only  met,  but  seemed  destined  to  remain 
long  united. 

In  this  second  scene  of  duty  Mr.  Hobart  con- 
tinued, however,  as  in  the  former,  but  one 
twelvemonth,  the  period  for  w^hich  the  engage- 
ment was  made.  He  removed  to  it  in  May, 
1799,  and  quitted  it  the  May  following,  and 
€ven  that,  not  without  strong  symptoms  of  a 
desire  to  change  sooner.  From  what  cause  or 
causes  this  apparent  vacillation  arose,  there  is 
no  express  evidence  to  show.  His  friend  Mr. 
Grant's  removal  from  the  place  was  probably 
one,  his  own  love  of  rural  retirement,  which  he 
here  missed,  doubtless  likewise  operated,  while 
a  third,  of  probably  paramount  influence,  is 
hinted  at  in  the  close  of  the  following  letter  to 
his  friend  Mercer. 

TO  C.  F.;  MERCER. 

'  Princeton,  July  Uth,  1799. 
I  am  doubtful,  my  dear  Mercer,  whether  or  not  to 
write  to  you,  as  I  suspect  you  will  be  on  your  way  home. 
C 


^ 


14  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

I  will  write,  however,  were  it  but  to  assure  you  that  no 
absence,  no  engagement  can  make  me  forget  you.  1 
have  much  wished  that  you  were  here,  that  I  might 
advise  with  you  on  the  subject  of  my  future  plans. 

I  spent  a  week  on  Long-Island.  The  village  of  Hemp- 
stead, within  which  is  the  church  and  parsonage,  lies  at 
the  south  border  of  an  uncultivated  plain,  about  four  or 
five  miles  in  width.  A  residence  there  would  be  very 
retired ;  I  am  almost  afraid  too  much  so  for  me. 
You  may,  perhaps,  wonder  at  this,  after  my  frequent 
eulogies  on  a  retired  life  ;  but  remember  that  at  Prince- 
ton, though  retired  from  the  busy  and  gay  world,  I  yet 
enjoyed  the  highest  pleasures  of  society  in  daily  inter- 
course with  intelligent  and  affectionate  friends.  How- 
ever, should  I  go,  I  must  summon  resolution  to  occupy 
my  mind  wholly  with  study,  and  the  duties  of  my 
profession,  till  I  find  in  domestic  joys  a  solace  for  low 
spirits  and  disquietude ;  and  I  rather  think  Miss  C.'s 
wishes,  which  would  determine  mine,  are  in  favor  of 
Hempstead. 

To  your  sister,  and  all  friends,  give  my  warmest 
affection.  I  long  once  again  to  embrace  you,  and  rest 
assured,  that,  with  the  most  fervent  prayers  for  your 
welfare  and  happiness,  I  am 

Your  faithful  and  affectionate, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

Under  these  circumstances  he  received  the 
expected  call  from  Hempstead  ;  and,  influenced 
by  his  feehngs,  took  a  step  which  his  better 
judgment  almost  immediately  condemned  and 
retracted  —  that  of  soliciting  a  release  from  his 
existing  contract  with  the  church  at  Brunswick. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  15 

'  Thus  circumstanced,'  is  the  language  of  his 
letter  to  the  vestry,  '  I  have  thought  it  my  duty 
to  state  to  the  vestry  here  my  desire  that  they 
would  release  me  from  my  temporary  engage- 
ment with  them  for  the  last  six  months,  to 
enable  me  to  accept  a  permanent  settlement, 
which  as  fully  meets  my  particular  views  as  I 
can  have  any  reason  to  expect.  I  think  it 
proper  to  mention,  what  I  suppose,  however, 
would  not  be  doubted,  that  is,  my  determination, 
and  my  wish  to  fulfil,  to  the  best  of  my  abilities, 
my  engagement  with  the  church  here,  unless 
regularly  released  therefrom.' 

This  was  a  letter  of  impulse  ;  that  of  calm 
reflection  came  the  following  day.  '  My  busi- 
ness with  the  vestry,'  sa^s  he,  'has  been  the 
subject  of  my  serious  reflections  since  I  left  you, 
and  I  have  come  to  a  determination,  which,  as 
it  will  render  all  further  proceedings  unneces- 
sar)^,  I  am  anxious  to  communicate  as  soon  as 
possible.  I  think  I  shall  not  be  satisfied,  under 
existing  circumstances,  to  receive  a  release  from 
my  engagement  with  your  church,  and  I  must, 
therefore,  beg  leave  to  withdraw  my  request  for 
it.  I  shall  accordingly  answer  the  call  of  the 
church  at  Hempstead,  by  informing  them  that 
my  immediate  acceptance  of  it  is  incompatible 
with  my  engagements  and  duty  to  the  church 
at  Brunswick  ;  and  so  fully  have  I  made  up  my 


16  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 

mind,  tliat  I  would  not  receive  a  release  from 
my  engagement  were  it  oifered  to  me.  Please 
to  communicate  the  contents  to  the  vestry.  I 
feel  myself  hound  to  apologize  to  them  for  the 
trouble  I  have  given  them,  and  to  you  for  what 
you  have  voluntaiily  undertaken.' 

This  was  an  act  of  self-denial,  and  it  had  its 
reward.  The  church  at  Hempstead  delayed 
their  choice  until  he  was  free  to  accept  a  call, 
and  his  union  with  Miss  C.  crowned  the  com- 
pletion of  his  new  arrangements. 

An  easy  conscience,  a  lovely  bride,  and  a 
rural  parsonage,  with  youtli  and  health,  and 
duties  to  w*hich  his  heart  had  long  been  de- 
voted,— it  were  not  easy  to  add  another  element 
to  the  cup  of  human  felicity  ! 

On  the  6th  day  of  May,  1800,  his  marriage 
took  place  with  Mary  Goodin  Chandler,  of 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  youngest  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler.  Of  this  lady, 
whose  living  sorrows  forbid  such  notice  as  her 
virtues  merit,  it  may  still  be  added,  that  she 
was  in  every  way  worthy  of  that  faithful  and 
affectionate  heart  which  then  became  her 
own.  In  her  lineage,  too,  as  daughter  of  the 
ablest  defender  of  the  Church  in  the  colonies, 
it  seemed  a  fate  peculiarly  appropriate,  which 
made  her  the  wife  of  the  ablest  defender  of  the 
same  Church  after  those  colonies  had  become 


BISHOP     HOBART.  17 

independent  States.  The  name  of  her  father  is 
in  fact  so  much  identified  with  the  early  history 
of  the  Church  in  this  country,  as  well  as  with 
the  personal  fortunes  of  Bishop  Hohart,  as  to 
deserve  from  his  biographer  a  more  than  passing 
notice. 

Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler  was  born  at 
Woodstock,  Mass.,  26th  April,  1726,*  educated 
at  Yale  College,  Conn.,  and  ordained  in  Eng- 
land in  1751,  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  under 
whose  Episcopal  charge  the  Colonies  then  were. 
On  his  return  to  this  country  he  became  Rector 
of  St,  John's  Church,  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,'  in 
which  humble  and  quiet  retreat,  resisting  with 
true  Christian  humility  all  temptations  to 
change,  he  lived,  labored,  and  died. 

In  this  choice,  indolence,  however,  had  no 
part,  for  he  there  labored  both  faithfully  and 
fearlessly,  and  that  not  only  in  his  parochial 


♦  Extract  frorr^  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Peters,  Chaplain 
to  Oliver  Cromtcell.  London,  1815. — '  The  second  daughter  of 
William  (a  brother  of  Hugl^)  married  Colonel  John  Chandler, 
of  Andover,  one  of  whose  descendants  was  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Bradbury  Chandler,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  an  Episcopal  Church  in 
Elizabethtown,  New- Jersey,  a  pious  and  literary  character  of  the 
first  rate  iii  America.  The  Doctor  left  several  daughters,  one  of 
whom  is  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hobart,  an  Episcopal  clergyman 
in  the  city  of  New- York,  who  is  an  author  and  preacher  of  high 
fame.  He  is  a  descendant  from  the  younger  brother  of  the  Earl 
of  Buckinghamshire  in  England.' 
C2 


18  MEMOIROF 

charge,  but  in  the  general  concerns  of  the 
Church.  The  great  object  to  which,  beyond  his 
immediate  duties,  he  devoted  himself,  was  the 
obtaining  an  episcopate  for  the  Church  in  the 
colonies.  This  formed  the  subject  of  several  suc- 
cessive 'Appeals'*  to  the  government  at  home, 
both  in  Church  and  State.  But  though  its  just- 
ice and  expediency  were  alike  granted,  the  boon 
was  not  obtained.  The  Bishop  of  London,  Dr. 
Lowth,  was  content  to  praise  the  argument 
instead  of  acting  upon  it.  '  The  nation  in  gene- 
ral,' says  he,  in  a  letter  to  their  author,  '  is 
greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  three  pamphlets, 
which,  I  am  sure,  if  plain  reason  and  good  sense, 
strongly  and  forcibly  urged,  and  placed  in  the 
clearest  light,  can  meet  with  any  attention, 
must  have  a  great  effect,  as  indeed  I  hear  they 
have,  and  I  hope  so  essential  a  service  will  not 
be  forgotten.' 

The  concluding  word  of  the  above  quotation 
deserves  notice,  as  it  shows  that,  the  Bishop 
underrated  the  motives  of  the  writer.  In  after- 
years,  w4ien  the  policy  for  which  Dr.  Chandler 
now  vainly  pleaded  was  freely  adopted  by  the 
British  government  toward  their  remaining 
American  colonies,  the  newly-created  bishopric 

*  See  his  Appeal  in  behalf  of  the  Church  .of  England  in  the 
Colonies ;  Appeal  defended ;  Appeal  further  defended  ;  Address 
to  Southern  Churchmen ;  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson,  &c. 


BISHOPHOBART.  19 

of  Nova  Scotia  was,  without  solicitation,  offered 
to  him,  while  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  showing, 
by  his  equally  decided  refusal,  that  he  had  pe- 
titioned in  former  times  for  the  Church,  not  for 
himself. 

That  he  was  not  forgotten  in  England  in  the 
better  sense  of  affectionate  remembrance,  may 
be  judged  from  the  parting  letter,  some  years 
after,  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  Bishop 
White  on  his  consecration.  If  he  should  not  be 
able  to  write  to  Dr.  Chandler,  he  begs  the  Bishop 
'  to  assure  him  of  his  affectionate  esteem  and 
regard,  and  his  hearty  prayers  for  his  better 
health.'  * 

The  home  picture  given  of  Dr.  Chandler  by 
one  who  had  the  best  means  of  gathering  in^ 
formation,  is  full  of  beauty  and  interest,  the  true 
picture  in  short  of  the  village  pastor.  *  Upon  his 
missionary  salary  of  50/.,  with  some  slight  con- 
tributions from  the  congregation,  a  parsonage  and 
small  glebe,  he  lived,'  says  Dr.  B.,f  '  with  such 
a  degree  of  ease  and  comfort,  with  such  a  free 
and  unbounded  hospitality,  as  are  remembered 
by  many  still  living,  both  with  wonder  and 
pleasure.  I  have  scarcely  ever  met,'  says  he, 
'  with  any  aged  person  belonging  to  our  Church, 

*  White's  Memoirs,  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  p.  397. 
t  Berrian's  Narrative,  p.  71. 


20  MEMOIROF 

who  had  visited  Elizabethtown,  that  did  not 
dehght  in  recalKng  the  many  happy  hours  he 
had  spent  in  that  agreeable  family,  and  at  that 
hospitable  board.  But  extensively  as  he  was 
known  and  respected  by  strangers,  he  was  still 
more  beloved  by  his  parishioners  and  friends. 
Cheerful  in  his  temper,  easy  and  accessible  in 
his  intercourse  with  others,  fond  of  study,  of 
retirement,  and  all  rural  pursuits,  but  yet  of 
blending  and  sweetening  them  with  social  en- 
joyment ;  remaining  much  at  home,  and  from 
an  aversion  to  preaching  elsewhere,  never  out 
of  his  own  pulpit,  it  was  natural  that  his  affa- 
bility, his  kindness,  his  constant  presence,  and 
unintermitted  labors,  should  greatly  endear  him 
to  his  people.' 

But  the  storm  of  the  Revolution  at  length 
broke  in  upon  his  peaceful  retreat.  In  common 
with  many  whose  characters  forbid  their  motives 
being  impeached,  he  had  deprecated  the  contest 
with  the  mother  country,  and  not  only  so,  but 
labored  with  no  feeble  pen  to  avert  it.  When 
actual  war  came,  and  there  was  no  longer  room 
for  the  peace-maker,  he  retired  before  the  storm, 
and  after  a  short  concealment  in  New- York, 
eventually  took  refuge  in  England.  But  even 
there  we  may  trace  the  footsteps  of  one  who  had 
preached  the  Gospeh  Such  was  the  remem- 
brance   he   had   left  behind   him  ;    such  the 


B  I  S  HO  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  21 

sanctity  of  the  home  where  he  had  dwelt,  and 
the  respect  universally  felt  for  his  widowed 
family,  that  amid  the  fluctuations  of  alternate 
success,  which  awaited  the  contending  parties 
in  New-Jersey,  the  parsonage  was  often  made 
a  place  of  common  refuge.  These  Christian 
charities,  on  the  edge  of  war,  it  is  indeed  de- 
lightful to  contemplate  :  they  are  like  the  sweet 
buddino-  flowers  that  orow  up  on  the  brink  of 
the  torrent  or  the  avalanche. 

The  reception  he  met  in  England  was  that 
due  to  a  scholar,  a  divine,  and  a  faithful  subject. 
The  University  of  Oxford  conferred  on  him 
her  highest  academic  degree  ;  the  government 
quadrupled  his  annual  stipend,  raising  it  to 
200/. ;  and  upon  the  erection  of  Nova  Scotia  into 
a  bishopric,  its  acceptance,  as  already  mentioned, 
was  not  only  proffered  but  pressed  upon  him. 
Persisting  in  his  refusal,  to  which,  in  some  de- 
gree, he  was  led  by  feeble  health,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  called  upon  him  to  name 
the  candidate,  and  it  was  on  his  suggestion  that 
the  station  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Inglis, 
former  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New-York, 
who,  on  his  part,  was  at  the  very  time  uniting 
with  others  of  the  American  clergy  in  re- 
commending Dr.  Chandler  to  the  same  office, 
*  as   one   every  way  qualified    (as   their   letter 


22  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

expresses  it)  to  discharge  ils  duties  with  dignity 
and  lionor.'  * 

From  a  manuscript  journal  kept  by  Dr.  Chan- 
dler during  his  absence,  and  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  author,  we  find  him  still  laboring  for 
those  whom  he  had  left  ;  raising  funds  for  his 
destitute  brethreji;  urging  upon  the  government 
plans  of  conciliation,  and  upon  the  bishops,  with 
whom  he  seems  to  have  lived  in  habits  of  inti- 
mate friendship,  the  completion  of  his  long- 
cherished  plan  of  an  American  Episcopate. 
Among  other  interesting  documents  on  this 
subject,  which  he  mentions  as  being  placed  in 
his  hands  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  he  speaks 
of  '  the  original  patent  made  out  by  Sir  Orlando 
Bridgman  for  an  American  Bishop  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.' 

Ten  tedious  years  of  banishment  were  thus 
passed  by  him,  and  when  at  length,  in  1785,  it 
was  judged  safe  and  expedient  for  him  to  return, 
it  was  in  age  and  sorrow,  after  having  lost,  as 
we  learn  from  his  journal,  a  '  beloved  daughter' 
and  an  *  only  son,'  and  with  an  incurable  dis- 
ease fixed  in  his  constitution  ;  one,  which,  if  any 
outward  circumstance  could  destroy  the  happi- 
ness of  a  good  man  arid  sincere  Christian,  must 
have  been  fatal  to  his  ;  but  he  came,  with  cheer- 

•  White's  Memoirs,  p.  331. 


BISHOPHOBART.  23 

fulness  ill  his  heart,  to  die  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family  ;  in  inward  as  well  as  outward  peace. 
On  the  last  page  of  his  diary  his  entry  is,  *  God's 
will  be  done.' 

But  while  he  had  life  his  heart  was  with  the 
Church ;  and  a  letter  of  expostulation,  written 
by  him  after  his  return,  to  the  Convention  in 
Philadelphia  in  178G,  '  I  have  no  doubt,'  says 
Bishop  White,  *  was  among  the  causes  that 
prevented  the  disorganizing  of  the  American 
Church.'  *  But  the  hand  of  death  was  upon 
him,  though  lingering  in  its  approach.  A  can- 
cer in  the  face  terminated  his  mortal  existence 
in  1790. 

But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  our  memoir. 
It  was  in  the  month  of  May,  as  if  to  crown  all 
other  blessings  with  the  bright  hopes  of  spring, 
that  Mr.  Hobart  and  his  youthful  bride  took 
possession  of  their  destined  parsonage  in  the 
quiet  village  of  Hempstead,  L.  I. 

Whether  it  answered  the  picture  which  fancy 
had  drawn,  we  must  leave  to  fancy  to  conjec- 
ture, for  there  are  no  memorials  ;  certain,  how- 
ever, it  is,  it  was  not  the  true  station  for  one  of 
his  talents  long  to  rest  in,  either  for  usefulness 
to  the   Church  or  happiness  to  himself.     The 

♦  White's  Memoirs,  p.  131. 


64  MEMOIROF 

energy  of  such  a  mind  must  eventually  have 
become  restless  under  the  want  of  adequate 
occupation,  and  his  love  of  retirement,  though 
it  continued  with  him  throughout  life,  and 
though  it  was  a  true  love^  was  yet,  we  must 
say,  an  intermitting  passion  ;  it  went  not  be- 
yond the  time  that  was  needful  for  the  refresh- 
ment of  mind  and  body, 

'  To  plume  his  feathers  and  let  grow  his  wings ! ' 

Though  we  may  not  add  with  the  poet, 

*  That  in  the  various  bustle  of  resort, 
Were  all  too  ruffled,  and  sometimes  impaired.' 

Of  his  short  residence  at  Hempstead,  neither 
record  nor  letter  is  found.  What  it  was,  may, 
however,  easily  be  conceived,  —  happiness  un- 
broken, so  long  as  sufficient  employment  was 
found  for  time  and  talents.  He  loved  study,  it 
is  true,  and  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of 
nature  ;  but  of  books  he  had  at  this  time  small 
store,  and  nature  on  the  pine  plains  of  Long- 
Island  is  neither  varied  nor  interesting  enough 
for  frequent  meditation.  But  had  he  even 
found,  what  here  in  truth  he  did  not,  all  that  a 
romantic  fancy  had  pictured,  still  it  neither 
would,  nor  ought  to  have  satisfied  him  long. 
The  day-dreams  of  youth  had  passed,  and  the 
period  of  repose  had  not  yet  come  ;   and,  under 


BISHOPHOBART.  25 

the  sterner  dictates   of  duty,  he  felt  a  voice 
within  him  that  bade  hira  up  and  be  doing. 

In  a  Church  like  that  of  England,  full  and 
stationar}^,  such  acknowledgment  might  indi- 
cate a  spirit  too  restless  for  the  Christian  minis- 
ter, but  it  is  otherwise  in  a  Church  like  ours, 
that  is  yet  but  in  \vhat  geologists  would  term  a 
formative  state :  where  the  harvest  is  so  bound- 
less, and  the  laborers  so  scanty,  that  the  buoyant 
energy  of  talent,  seeking  for  itself  an  appropriate 
field  of  ministerial  dut}-,  widens  instead  of  nar- 
rowing the  path  for  all  who  follow. 

As  this  charge  of  '  self-seeking'  is  one  often 
made  against  the  memory  of  Bishop  Hobart,  it  is 
due  to  him,  and  as  the  author  thinks  to  truth, 
here  to  draw^  a  broad  line  of  distinction  between 
that  honorable  spirit  of  action  which  certainly 
belonged  to  him,  and  which  rests  not  beneath 
its  natural  level,  and  that  vulgar  personal  ambi- 
tion with  w^hich  it  is  sometimes  confounded,  and 
of  which  he  was  most  falsely  accused. 

The  contest  now  was,  who  should  have  him. 
The  new  parish  of  St.  Mark's,  New-York,  made 
indirect  overtures  to  him  to  become  its  Rector. 
The  older  parish  of  Trinity  Church  openly  called 
him  as  an  assistant  minister  :  both  these  took 
place  within  five  months  after  his  settlement 
at  Hempstead.  The  latter  invitation  bearing 
date  September  8th,   1800,  after  a  few  days' 

D 


26  M  E  ]M  0  I  R     O  F 

reflection,  was  accepted  by  him.  The  feehngsi 
under  which  this  decision  was  made  will  be  best 
learned  by  an  extract  from  his  answer  to  it., 
'  The  best  evidence,'  says  he,  '  that  I  can  givci 
of  my  feelings  will  be  the  endeavor  to  act  in 
all  cases  with  fidelit)^  and  independence,  govern- 
ed only  by  a  sincere  regard  to  the  sacred  dic- 
tates of  conscience  and  duty.  The  station 
would  require  the  judgment  and  experience  of 
more  advanced  j^ears :  I  shall  have,  therefore, 
a  peculiar  claim  on  the  friendship  and  counsel 
of  the  vestry,  on  the  cairdor  and  support  of  the 
congregation,  and  on  the  affectionate  advice  and 
aid  of  my  superiors  and  brethren  in  the  ministry. 
Thus  strengthened  and  supported,  while  I  en- 
deavor faithfully  to  discharge  my  duty,  I  trust 
that  I  may  hope  for  the  presence  and  blessing 
of  Almighty  God.' 

In  the  month  of  December  he  removed  to  th^ 
city,  and  entered  upon  his  duties.  The  follow- 
ing letter  to  his  friend  Mercer  shows  that  simpler 
visions  than  those  of  ambition  were  uppermost 
in  his  mind,  and  that  his  present  change  was 
one  not  wholly  unmixed  Avith  regrets. 

TO  C.  F.  MERCER. 

'  New  -  York,  March  18th,  1801. 
My  long  silence  is  indeed  without  excuse.     It  would 
be  folly  in  me  to  pretend  that  engagements  have  pre- 
vented me  from  writing  to  you,  though  these,  from  my 


BISHOPHOBART.  27 

change  of  residence,  have  been  numerous.  My  mind, 
however,  has  generally  been  so  depressed  that  I  have 
not  had  the  resolution  to  take  up  my  pen.  Though  I 
have  not  lately  had  those  fits  of  melancholy  to  which  I 
was  formerly  subject,  yet  I  seem  to  be  the  victim  of  a 
languor  that  indisposes  and  disqualifies  me  for  exertion. 
This  state  of  my  mind  I  attribute  partly  to  constitu- 
tional malady,  but  particularly  to  my  having  been  of 
late  hurried  through  scenes  so  novel,  and  so  wholly 
opposed  to  my  former  sentiments,  habits,  and  pursuits. 
From  a  wise  law  of  nature,  however,  which  gradually 
bends  the  mind  to  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is 
placed,  I  am  becoming  more  reconciled  to  my  situation ; 
and  I  am  awakened  from  this  fatal  torpor  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  I  am  sacrificing  to  it  the  highest  duties  and 
enjoyments  of  life.  I  moved  to  town  last  December,  at 
which  time  I  entered  on  the  duties  of  my  office  as  one 
of  the  assistant  ministers  of  Trinity  Church.  I  find 
enough  to  occupy  my  thoughts  and  my  time.  I  have 
so  many  interruptions,  and  so  many  engagements,  thai 
my  mind  and  feelings  become  relaxed  and  dissipated. 
I  am  endeavoring  to  introduce  order  and  energy  into  my 
studies  and  duties,  which  will,  no  doubt,  have  a  favor- 
able effect  on  my  mind.  I  can,  however,  never  like  a 
city.  I  pant  for  the  enjoyments  of  the  country,  and  still 
indulge  the  hope  of  being  one  day  able  to  realize  a  plan 
of  happiness  somewhat  like  my  wishes.  Who  is  there 
that  does  not  indulge  this  hope  ?  Yet  do  not  suppose 
that  I  am  unhappy ;  from  the  lofty  regions  of  inexpe- 
rienced fancy,  in  which  we  often  soared,  I  have  sunk 
down  to  the  plain,  but  perhaps  more  valuable  enjoyments 
of  common  life.  Except  when  under  the  uncontrollable 
influence  of  constitutional  melancholy,  I  can  generally 
find  happiness  in  the  endearments  and  duties  of  domes- 


28  MEMOIROF 

tic  life  —  in  the  enlivening  hopes  of  friendship  —  in  plans 
of  literary  improvement  and  professional  duty  ;  and  if  I 
know  my  own  heart,  I  can  say,  that  regarding  this  world 
as  the  scene  of  much  vice  and  misery,  and  containing 
no  bliss  but  what  will  be  infinitely  exalted  in  that  which 
is  to  come,  I  cherish  always  with  pleasure,  and  some- 
times with  triumph,  the  prospect  of  leaving  it,  and 
entering  on  the  perfection  and  unutterable  happiness  of 
my  everlasting  existence. 

J.   H.    HOBART.' 


This  letter  must  surely  have  been  penned  in 
some  gloomy  moment,  for  it  certainly  presents 
a  picture  which  his  nearest  friends  cannot 
realize.  It  is  a  morbid  exaggeration  of  mo- 
mentary feeling  :  he  mistook  the  shadow  of  a 
cloud  for  the  darkness  of  night ;  but  the  cloud 
soon  passed,  and  all  was  bright  again.  To  such 
alternations  ardent  minds  are  proverbially  sub- 
ject, but  Mr.  Hobart  less  so  than  any  the 
author  at  least  has  known.  Cheerful  activity 
seemed  part  of  his  nature  ;  it  beamed  forth  in 
all  that  he  said  or  did  ;  whatever  he  thought  or 
felt  came  forth  from  his  heart  as  water  from  a 
living  spring,  bright  and  sparkling  ;  his  words, 
too,  moved  as  quickly,  like  unto  those  of  one  who 
i'  Teels  himself  impelled  to  speak.  That  he  had 
I  his  moments  of  lassitude,  there  is  no  doubt ;  but 
I  compared  with  most  men,  they  were  few  and  far 
between.     He  was  by  nature  happy  and  light- 


BISHOPHOBART.  29 

hearted.  In  the  medley  of  mental  musings, 
the  cheerful  thought  with  him  was  always 
uppermost,  and  often  expressed  itself  with  child- 
like simplicity  on  his  countenance.  '  What  were 
you  smiling  at  ? '  I  once  said,  on  meeting  him, 
walking  alone.  'At  my  own  thoughts,'  replied 
he  ;  'I  am  so  apt  to  do  it,  I  am  sometimes  afraid 
of  being  taken  in  the  streets  for  a  simpleton.' 
This  it  was  that  gave  to  him  in  society  a  bright 
and  cheerful  tone,  in  voice,  look,  and  manner. 
His  entrance  into  the  room  was  like  a  ray  of 
light  for  wakening  up  the  dull  or  dispirited,  and 
no  chance  companion  of  an  hour  could  ever  part 
from  him  without  feeling  that  he  had  been  in 
the  society  of  a  cheerful  and  happy  man,  as  well 
as  a  most  able  and  good  one. 


D2 


30  MEMOIROF 


CHAPTER   II. 

From  his  Removal  to  the  City  in  December,  1800,  to  thejirst  of 
his  Publications  in  1803  ;  from  the  2bth  to  the  28th  Year  of 
his  Age. 

Trinity  Cliurcli — Early  History — Actual  Condition — Style  and  Estimate 
of  Mr.  Hobartas  a  Preacher — Styles  ofPreaching — His  Performance  of 
Pastoral  Duties — Domestic  Establishment — Anecdotes  of  Kindness — 
Habits  of  Study — Official  Duties  in  Generd  and  State  Conventions. 

The  parish  of  Trinity,  with  which  he  now 
became  connected,  was  among  the  oldest  in  the 
Northern  States.  The  Province  of  New-York, 
being  gained  by  conquest,  became  consequently 
a  royal  colony.  The  Church  of  England,  there- 
,  fore,  came  in  with  the  government,  in  1664,  or 
rather  in  1667,  when,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda, 
the  colony  was  ceded.  The  Church  thus  be- 
came, in  some  sense,  established. 

Among  the  rights  to  which  it  at  once  suc- 
ceeded, was  the  use  of  the  garrison  chapel, 
which  stood  within  the  fort,  near  what  is  now 
termed  the  Bowling  Green,  at  the  foot  of  Broad- 
way. Upon  the  subsequent  increase  of  the 
congregation,  a  parish  church  was  erected  under 
the  name  of  *  Trinity,'  which  stood  where  the 
present  church  of  that  name  now  stands.  This 
was  in  the  5^ear  1696,  under  the  reign  of  Wil- 
liam and  Mary,  by  whom,  or  rather  by  the 


BISHOP      HOB  ART.  31 

colonial  governor,  under  authority  committed  to 
him,  it  was  liberally  endowed  —  an  adjoining 
property,  known  as  *  the  King's  Farm,'  being 
granted  to  the  corporation  for  the  support  of  the 
services  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.* 

This  edifice  was  originally  a  small  square 
building,  accommodated  to  present  necessity  ; 
but  being  iw\ce  enlarged,  viz.  in  1735  and  1737, 
it  became  one  of  the  largest  and  most  splendid 
churches  in  the  country,  being  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  feet  in  length,  seventy-two  in  width, 
with  a  noble  spire  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet 
in  height.  On  the  21st  September,  1776,  it  was 
involved  in  the  memorable  and  melancholy  con- 
flagration wliich  devastated  that  part  of  the  city, 
and  lay  in  ruins  during  the  remainder  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  and  for  some  years  afterward. 

The  present  edifice,  inferior  in  size  to  the  old, 
being  forty-tw^o  feet  shorter,  was  erected  in  1788, 
and  consecrated  in  1791,  by  the  first  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese,  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Provoost. 
In  addition  to  the  parish  church,  two  chapels 
within  its  bounds  had  successively  been  erected 
previous  to  this  period,  viz.  St.  George's,  in 
1752,  and  St.  Paul's,  in  1766. 

*  The  original  grant  was  a  temporary  one.  6th  May,  1607,  by 
Governor  Fletcher.  It  was  made  perpetual  by  a  grant  from  Lord 
Combury,  1705,  and  in  1709  confirmed  by  the  Colonial  Assembly 
under  Governor  Ingoldsby. 


32  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

'  Such  was  the  parish  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Hobart's  connection  with  it.  Subsequently 
St.  John's  Chapel  was  added,  (1807,)  and 
St.  George's  set  off  (1811)  as  an  independent 
church.  The  parish  was  then,  as  it  continues  to 
be  now,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  rector  and 
three  assistants.*  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hobart's 
election,  the  Right  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore,  D.  D., 
held  the  situation  of  rector,  having  been  elected 
thereto  on  Bishop  Provoost's  resignation,  the 
same  day  (September  8,  1800,)  on  which  the 
call  was  given  to  Mr.  Hobart.  The  other 
assistant  minister  was  the  Rev.  Abraham  Beach, 
D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.   Cave   Jones  was  chosen 

*  The  Rectors  of  Trinity  Church  up  to  the  present  year 
(1836)  have  been  as  follows  : 

Rev.  William  Vesey,      from  1G9G  to    174G,  50  years. 

Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  D.  D.,  174G         1764,  18 

Rev.  Samuel  Auchmuty,  D.  D.,     1764         1777,  13, 

Rev.  Charles  Inglis,  D,  D.,  (after- 
ward Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,)     1777        1783,    6 
■    Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Provoost,  D.  D.,  1783         1800,  17 

Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore,  D.D.,  1800        1816,  16 

Rt.  Rev.  John  H.  Hobart,  D.  D.,  1811         1830,  19 

Rev.  Wm.  Bcrrian,  D.  D.,  1830. 

The  other  ministers  have  been,  beside  the  above-named,  the 
Rev.  John  Ogilvie,  D.  D.,  Rev.  John  Bowden,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Abra- 
ham Beach,  D.  D.,  Rev.  John  Bisset,  Rev,  Cave  Jones,  Rev. 
Thomas  Y.  How,  D.  D,,  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Brownell,  D.  D.,  now 
Bishop  of  Connecticut,  Rev.  J.  M.  Wainwright,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
Henry  Anthon,  D.  D.,  Rev.  J.  F.  Schroeder,  and  the  Right  Rev. 
B.  T.  Onderdonk,  D.  D.,  the  present  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.     , 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  33 

shortly  after.  With  these  as  his  fellow-laborers 
in  the  parish,  Mr.  Hobart  was  now  associated, 
and  was  soon  after  placed  on  a  ministerial  equal- 
ity with  them,  by  being  admitted  to  the  order  of 
Priests.  This  ordination  was  by  Bishop  Pro- 
voost,  in  Trinity  Church,  in  the  year  1801. 

As  Mr.  Hobart  owed  doubtless  this  his  early 
advancement,  for  he  w^as  but  in  Deacons'  Orders 
when  elected,  to  his  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  consider  his  claims 
to  that  character,  and  the  peculiarities  by  which 
it  was  marked. 

In  the  physical  powers  of  the  orator,  Mr.  Ho- 
bart, though  not  eminently  gifted,  was  yet  far 
from  wanting.  His  figure  was  somewhat  under 
size,  but  it  was  firm  and  strongly  knit,  giving 
the  impression  of  muscular  strength  with  great 
agility  and  vigor  of  movement.  His  head  was 
large  in  proportion  to  his  body,  his  forehead  high 
and  prominent,  and  the  general  cast  of  his  fea- 
tures, though  not  large,  yet  massive.  In  one 
feature  of  power,  however,  he  was  wanting  :  the 
'glance  of  the  eye'  (to  the  orator  no  feeble 
weapon)  with  him  was  comparatively  lost, 
through  the  use  of  spectacles,  to  which  near- 
sightedness had  forced  him  even  from  boyhood. 
His  voice  on  the  contrary  was  deep,  strong  and 
flexible  ;  having  in  it  great  compass,  and  varying 
with   every  expression  of  feeling,   though  not 


34  M  E  M  0  IR     0  F 

alwaj^s,  it  must  be  admitted,  with  that  chastened 
and  harmonious  movement  which  the  critical 
ear  demands.  Tlie  same  charge  might  also  be 
made  against  his  enunciation,  which,  though 
always  distinct  and  clear,  was  oftentimes  too 
rapid  for  the  train  of  thought  in  ordinary  minds, 
and  too  sudden  in  its  change  of  tone  for  hearers 
of  a  less  vivid  temperament  tiian  himself  to 
follow,  sympathize,  and  approve. 

But  it  was  in  the  moral  elements  of  the  orator 
that  his  strength  peculiarly  lay.  There  was 
that  in  him  which  the  heart  of  man  can  never 
long  resist.  Sincere,  earnest,  and  affectionate, 
the  sympathies  of  his  hearers  were  almost  im- 
mediately enlisted  in  his  favor ;  so  that  what 
was  not  yielded  to  conviction  was  often  given  up 
to  feeling.  To  withstand  his  argument  seemed 
not  so  much  opposition  to  a  reasoner  as  ingrati- 
tude to  a  friend.  But  although  the  heart  first 
gave  way,  the  judgment  of  the  hearer  soon 
followed  ;  since  amid  all  his  discursiveness  of 
thought  and  diffuseness  of  language,  there  was 
yet  evident  in  all  that  he  said,  a  thread  of  strong 
connected  reasoning,  that  showed  the  prepon- 
derance of  sound  judgment,  and  satisfied  his 
auditor  that  he  was  yielding  to  no  vain  torrent 
of  youthful  enthusiasm. 

This  style  of  preaching,  especially  when  cou- 
pled   with    the    novel    practice    of   delivering 


B  I  S  H  0  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  35 

his  sermons  without  the  use  of  notes,  was  so 
foreign  to  the  placid  and  more  formal  tone  to 
which  his  hearers  had  been  long  accustomed,  as 
to  be  very  far  from  universally  acceptable.  Some 
decried  it  on  the  score  of  novelty  ;  others  again 
of  enthusiasm  and  extravagance  ;  and  many  of 
the  older  members  of  the  Church  looked  with 
no  little  distrust  upon  an  innovator  at  once  so 
young,  so  bold,  and  so  persuasive.  But  these 
scruples  were  overcome  in  proportion  as  their 
preacher  became  known  ;  and  after  a  time 
changed  to  an  unbounded  confidence  in  both 
his  talents  and  his  judgment,  which  was  never 
afterward  shaken. 

The  critical  objectors  stood  out  longer  because 
they  had  something  to  stand  upon.  His  style 
of  preaching  they  could  not  den}^  to  be  impress- 
ive, but  the)^  doubted  its  good  taste.  To  this  it 
was  replied,  that  although  there  might  be  too 
much  of  action,  that  action  at  any  rate  was  im- 
studied,  earnest,  and  expressive  ;  if  his  manner 
were  somewhat  too  impassioned,  it  was  never- 
theless but  the  picture  of  his  feelings  ;  and  if 
his  expressions  sometimes  bordered  upon  enthu- 
siasm, why,  so  too  did  his  affections  ;  and  in 
short,  that  in  language,  tone,  and  gesture,  his 
delivery  but  kept  pace  with  the  promptings  of  a 
heart  such  as  few  possessed,  and  all  must  love. 

Now  whatever  faults  might  be  charged  upon 


36  MEMOIROF 

such  a  style  of  preaching,  they  could  not  but  be 
venial,  so  that  they  soon  ceased  to  be  talked 
about  ;  either  criticism  stood  abashed  under  the 
influence  of  better  feelings,  or  the  hearts  of  his 
auditors  were  carried  away  beyond  the  hearing 
of  its  cold  objections.  They  who  listened  to 
him  had  certainly  better  things  to  think  of,  for 
from  the  first  day  of  his  ministry  among  those 
committed  to  his  care,  he  never  ceased  to  preach 
unto  them  ^  Christ  crucified,'  the  only  Saviour 
of  sinners,  and  to  exhort  them,  *  even  with  tears,' 
to  lay  hold  upon  that  salvation  by  entering  into 
covenant  with  him  in  that  Church  which  he 
had  purchased  with  his  blood. 

Such  was  the  stjde  and  tone  of  Mr.  Hobart's 
preaching  when  first  established  in  the  scene  of 
his  long-continued  ministry,  and  as  it  was  the 
unpress  of  his  character,  so  it  continued  un- 
changed in  all  its  leading  features  throughout 
life.  Years  and  experience  had  no  doubt  their 
moderating  influence  upon  his  manner  ;  but  less 
with  him  than  with  most  men,  for  he  himself 
altered  less.  To  the  last  days  of  life  his  feel- 
ings continued  to  hold  that  freshness,  which, 
with  minds  of  a  less  happy  or  vigorous  frame, 
belongs  only  to  the  buoyant  season  of  youth ; 
with  him,  it  may  be  said,  that  season  was 
perpetual ;  the  fountain  was  perennial,  therefore 
the   stream  never  stopped  :    the  spring  was   a 


BI  S  H  O  P     II  0  B  ART.  37 

warm  one  that  nature  had  opened  in  his  breast, 
therefore  amid  the  colds  of  winter  it  only  gushed 
out  the  warmer  by  contrast. 

In  one  point  of  manner,  however,  he  decidedly 
changed  :  he  gave  up  preaching  his  sermons 
*  memoriter.'  This  practice,  to  which  for  a  con- 
siderable time  he  adhered,  his  biographer  and 
relative,  Dr.  Berrian,*  has  attributed  to  a  phy- 
sical necessity,  created  by  near-sightedness ;  but 
to  this  it  may  be  objected,  if  such  necessity  ex- 
isted, how  was  the  practice  afterward  changed  ? 
This  makes  it  evident  that  it  was  a  matter  of 
choice  and  preference.  Such  manner  of  delivery 
accorded  better  with  the  warmth  of  his  emotions, 
and  was  more  favorable,  he  thought,  to  a  deep 
impression  on  the  minds  of  those  who  heard  him. 

In  illustration  of  this,  he  once  held  an  argu- 
ment on  the  subject  with  his  present  biographer, 
then  a  young  student  of  divinity,  urging  him  to 
the  adoption  of  the  same  course,  and  closing  his 
philippic  against  the  reading  of  sermons  by  the 
following  apologue  : 

*  A  steward  once  complained  to  his  lord  that 
the  servants  of  the  household  were  disobedient 
and  disrespectful  to  him.  His  lord  directed  him 
to  assemble  them  in  the  great  hall,  and  sharply 
to  rebuke  them  in  his  presence.      They  were 

*  Memoir,  &c.,  p.  79. 


38  MEMOIROF 

assembled  accordingly,  when  the  steward  draw- 
ing forth  from  his  pocket  a  written  paper,  pro- 
ceeded gravely  to  read  therein,  in  a  monotonous 
tone  of  voice,  the  prescribed  rebuke.  The 
servants  looked,  listened,  smiled,  and  retired, 
and,  strange  to  tell,  were  disobedient  and  disre- 
spectful as  before.' 

The  practical  importance  of  this  question,  and 
the  danger  of  young  preachers  mistaking  their 
true  course  under  such  high  authority,  must  be 
the  author's  apology  for  entering  a  little  into  it. 
Bishop  Hobart's  practice  then,  he  thinks,  was  a 
safer  rule  than  his  argument,  and  experience 
a  better  one  than  either.  Extemporaneous 
preaching  is  bad,  because  the  power  to  instruct, 
which  is  the  basis  of  all  his  other  power,  depends 
upon  what  cannot  belong  to  off-hand  speaking  ; 
upon  order  and  arrangement,  and  precision  and 
logical  connection.  In  these  the  extempore 
speaker  from  the  pulpit,  above  all  others,  is 
necessarily  deficient,  because  his  subject  wants 
the  landmarks  of  fact  and  counter-argument, 
that,  under  other  circumstances  support  and 
bear  forward  the  speaker :  therefore  it  is,  such 
preachers  are  always  found  to  eddy  round  and 
round  their  subject  in  wearisome  sterility. 

Again,  to  preach  memoritery  i.  e.  to  write  and 
commit  to  memory,  is  still  worse  :  loss  of  time 
and  exhaustion  of  mind  are  among  its  additional 


BISHOPHOBART.  39 

costs,  and  are  both  so  much  deducted  from  what 
the  preacher  is  able  to  give  to  other  duties  ;  but 
besides  this,  the  very  similarity  which  it  pro- 
duces to  extemporaneous  preaching  —  the  very 
motive  with  the  preacher  for  its  adoption — is  in 
itself  a  great  evil  :  it  leads  him  studiously  away 
from  excellence  ;  he  is  afraid  of  being  too  choice 
in  the  right  word,  or  too  clear  in  his  arrange- 
ment, or  too  logical  in  his  conclusions,  lest  the 
truth  shoidd  appear  to  his  hearers  that  he  is 
speaking  from  memory,  and  not  from  impulse. 
He  therefore  studies  to  resemble  that  which  he 
would  fain  seem  to  be,  and  thus  learns  to  imitate 
the  extemporaneous  speaker  in  diffuse  phrase 
and  loose  logic. 

What  a  preacher  should  be  able  to  do  is  an- 
other thing  from  what  he  should  habitually  do. 
He  should  be  able  to  speak  without  preparation, 
but  not  willing  to  do  it.  His  power  of  useful- 
ness may  sometimes,  nay  often,  depend  upon  his 
actually  doing  it,  and  then  he  is  to  do  it ;  but 
this  is  no  justification  for  converting  the  exception 
into  the  rule. 

Not  only,  too,  should  sermons  be  icritten,  but 
they  should  be  read ;  that  is,  so  delivered  as  to 
satisfy  the  hearer  that  the  preacher  is  giving 
him  not  the  thought  of  the  moment,  not  the 
language  of  chance  excitement,  but  that  which 
has    been   premeditated  and   chosen,   both    in 


40  MEMOIROF 

thought  and  language,  as  the  truth,  the  precise 
truth,  and  the  whole  truth,  in  reference  to  what- 
ever point  of  Christian  duty  or  doctrine  may  be 
his  theme. 

Nor  need  such  delivery  be  wanting  in  any 
one  element  of  power  :  that  which  is  written  in 
earnestness  may  be  delivered  with  warmth,  and 
the  strength  and  conviction  that  were  in  the 
mind  of  the  writer,  transferred  undiminished 
through  tones  that  speak  to  the  minds  and  the 
hearts  of  the  hearers  ;  and  this  not  only  may  be, 
but  will  be,  where  the  feelings  are  right,  in 
proportion  as  the  preacher  is  freed  from  those 
trammels,  which,  with  all  his  pretence  to  free- 
dom, enslave  the  extempore  speaker ;  the  ever- 
present  thought  of  what  he  shall  say,  and  hoio 
he  shall  say  it. 


In  thus  ranking  Bishop  Hobart  as  a  first-rate 
effective  pulpit  orator,  that  the  estimate  may 
not  appear  a  partial  one,  the  language  is  sub- 
joined of  a  clergyman  not  of  our  country — one 
himself  a  scholar,  and  familiar  with  the  best 
specimens  afforded  by  the  English  and  Scotch 
pulpits.  His  testimony  relates,  however,  to  a 
later  period  of  life  than  the  one  before  us, 
having  heard  him  while  on  a  visit  to  New-York, 
in  1816. 


BISHOPHOBART.  41 

'  It  was  impossible,'  says  Archdeacon  Strachan, 
'  to  hear  him  without  becoming  sensible  of  the 
infinite  importance  of  the  Gospel.  He  warned, 
counselled,  entreated,  and  comforted,  with  in- 
tense and  powerful  energy.  His  manner  and 
voice  struck  you  with  the  deep  interest  which 
pervaded  his  soul  for  their  salvation,  and  found 
ready  entrance  into  their  heart. 

'  He  appeared  in  the  pulpit  as  a  father  anxious 
for  the  eternal  happiness  of  his  children — a  man 
of  God  preparing  them  for  their  Christian  war- 
fare— a  herald  from  the  other  world,  standing 
between  the  living  and  the  dead,  between 
heaven  and  earth,  entreating  perishing  sinners, 
in  the  most  tender  accents,  not  to  reject  the 
message  of  reconciliation  which  the  Son  of  the 
living  God  so  graciously  offered  for  their  accept- 
ance.' 

Again,  *  His  power  as  a  preacher  was  not 
only  perceived,  but  felt.  The  precise  and  mi- 
nute adaptation  of  his  ministrations  to  the  state 
of  his  hearers,  the  ease  with  which  he  entered 
into  the  diversified  workings  of  their  hearts,  and 
the  knowledge  which  he  displayed  of  their 
thoughts  and  practice,  could  only  be  exhibited 
by  one  who  possessed  something  of  an  intuitive, 
yet  profound  discernment  of  human  nature, 
added  to  an  extensive  and  discriminating  obser- 

F.2 


42  MEMOIROF 

vation  of  human  conduct,  in  every  varied  situa- 
tion of  common  life.'  * 

If  Mr.  Hobart  was  acceptable  to  his  people 
as  a  preacher,  still  more  was  he  as  a  pastor,  for 
the  duties  of  which  he  was  peculiarly  fitted,  not 
only  by  warmth   of  heart   and   tenderness   of 
manner,  but  by  a  spirit  of  piety  which  Avas  at 
once  unassuming,   rational,   and   ardent.     But 
this   picture  has  been   already  happily   given. 
'  He  was  singularly  happy,'  says  Dr.  Berrian, 
'  in  his  visitation  of  the  sick,  as  I  have  often 
had  occasion  to  observe  when  I  have  chanced 
to   be  with   him.      The   ease  and  freedom   of 
his  manner,  united  with  the  greatest  tender- 
ness and  delicacy,  at  once  removed  embarrass- 
jnent,   and  drew  forth  from  those  with  whom 
he   conversed    an    unrestrained    expression   of 
their  feelings  and  views.     The  readiness  with 
which    he    applied    his    general    observations, 
and  the   felicity   with   which  he   adapted   his 
quotations  from  Scripture  to  the  respective  cir- 
cumstances of  their  case,  gave  to  all  that  he 
said  a  peculiar  interest  and  force  ;  and  the  im- 
pression was  made  still  deeper  by  the  solemnity 
and  fervor  with  which  he  offered  up  the  prayers. 

*  A  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Chalmers,  D.  D.,  Professor  of 
Divinity  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  Life  and  Char- 
acter of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Hobart,  Bishop  of  New- York,  North 
America. 


BISHOPHOBART.  43 

Regarding  also  his  vow  not  only  to  visit  the 
sick  but  the  well  within  his  cure,  he  devoted  as 
much  of  his  time  to  this  duty  as  could  conve- 
niently be  taken  from  his  other  numerous  and 
pressing  engagements.  Among  these  he  min- 
gled with  the  easy  familiarity  of  a  friend,  im- 
posing no  restraint  upon  their  cheerful  conver- 
sation, or  innocent  enjoyments,  but  securing 
their  good  will  and  affection  by  his  sociability 
and  kindness  ;  and  at  the  same  time  not  losing 
sight  of  the  dignity  of  his  character,  nor  the 
obligations  of  his  calling,  but  often  availing 
himself  of  suitable  opportunities  to  season 
common  discourse  with  such  words  as  might 
"  minister  grace  unto  the  hearers."  How  often 
are  the  recollections  of  these  happy  hours 
awakened  in  thousands,  with  a  gush  of  tender- 
ness that  they  can  be  enjoyed  no  more  ! '  * 

Amid  all  his  busy  cares,  the  separation  from 
his  mother  and  only  sister  was  at  times  deeply 
felt  by  liim.  In  1802  he  hurried  on  to  Frank- 
fort (Pennsylvania)  to  see  the  latter  under  a 
severe  attack  of  disease  which  threatened  her 
life.  The  following  letters,  to  Mrs.  Hobart,  ex- 
press both  his  sorrow  and  his  comfort  in  the 
visit.  The  death  of  his  mother,  as  the  author 
has  learned  by  inquiry,  occurred  the  following 

*  Berrian,  pp.  80,  81. 


44  M  E  M  O  1  R     O  F 

year ;    of  it,   however,    no    notices   are   found 
among  Mr.  Hobart's  papers. 

TO  MRS    HOB  ART. 

Frankfort,  July  \st,  180*2. 
My  dear  Goodin. 

I  am  rejoiced  to  find  by  your  letter  that  you  are  as 
well  as  when  I  left  you,  and  that  our  darling,  Jane,  is 
as  usual. 

My  sister  I  think  is  weaker  than  when  I  came, 
but  her  fever  has  in  a  considerable  degree  yielded  to 
some  powerful  medicines  which  she  has  been  taking. 
It  is  possible  she  may  recover — our  wishes  catch  at 
every  favorable  appearance.  God  grant  they  may  not 
be  blasted  !  Though  exceedingly  weak  and  depressed, 
she  is  perfectly  sensible,  and  discovers  the  ardent  ten- 
derness of  her  heart  by  her  solicitude  for  the  happiness 
of  those  she  loves.  She  often  speaks  of  you,  whom  she 
loves  for  your  own  sake,  and  as  the  wife  of  her  beloved 
brother.  It  seems  impossible  for  me  at  present  to  leave 
her,  and  I  must  therefore  repress  my  earnest  desires  to 
embrace  you  and  my  sweet  Jane.  Do  not  let  her  forget 
her  papa.  You  must  try  to  keep  up  your  spirits, 
and  do  not  confine  yourself — yield  to  invitations  to  go 
abroad — confinement  will  injure  both  your  spirits  and 
your  health.     Do  write  to  me  again  immediately. 

I  have  written  to  Dr.  B.,  that  I  shall  not  be  in  New- 
York  next  Sunday.  I  conclude  I  can  be  spared,  as 
Trinity  Church  is  to  be  shut  up,  and  Dr.  Blackwell,  I 
understand,  is  in  New- York. 

My  dear  Goodin  has  the  prayers  of  her  affectionate, 

J.  H.  HOBART." 


BISHOP     II  0  B  A  R  T.  45 

TO  MRS.  HOBART. 

'  Frankfort,  hth  July,  1802. 

I  was  disappointed  in  not  receiving  a  letter  this 
morning  from  my  dear  Goodin.  I  am  anxious  to  hear 
of  your  health  and  that  of  our  little  darling,  and  I  must 
hope  that  I  shall  receive  a  letter  from  you  by  the  next 
mail. 

Sister  continues  exceedingly  weak  and  low,  though 
the  physicians  encourage  the  hope  that  for  a  few  days 
past  the  symptoms  of  her  disorder  have  been  rather 
more  favorable  than  before.  For  my  own  part  I  am  almost 
afraid  even  to  hope.  It  gives  me  inexpressible  pleasure 
to  find  her  mind  perfectly  composed,  and  that  the 
religious  principles,  which  she  hath  long  cultivated, 
support  her  in  this  trying  period.  Nothing  but  a  wish 
to  cherish  these  religious  hopes,  and  thus  to  soothe  the 
illness  of  a  beloved  sister,  could  reconcile  me  to  a  sepa- 
ration from  you.  When  I  consider  how  strong  her 
affections  are,  and  how  numerous  the  ties  that  attach 
her  to  the  world,  I  am  disposed  to  bless  the  divine 
goodness  which  inspires  her  with  so  much  resignation. 
May  God  still  raise  her  a  blessing  to  her  family  and 
friends. 

I  must  endeavor  to  see  you  this  week,  though  I  can- 
not name  the  day.  It  will  most  probably  be  toward 
the  close  of  the  week.  I  often  think  of  my  Goodin 
and  our  dear  infant,  and  commend  them  to  the  Divine 
protection  and  blessing. 

Your  sincere  and  affectionate, 

J.  H.  HoBART.' 


With  small  means,   and  a  growing  family, 
his   establishment,   in   an   expensive    city  like 


46  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 

New-York,  required  to  be  regulated  in  the 
strictest  style  of  economy.  His  earliest  resi- 
dence was,  therefore,  a  very  small  two-story 
house  in  Greenwich-street,  the  rear,  however, 
of  which  was  rendered  airy  by  the  proximity  of 
the  river.  The  attic  chamber  here  formed  his 
study,  as  being  the  most  retired  and  quiet  spot 
in  the  house,  with  windows  looking  out  over 
the  noble  expanse  of  the  Hudson  to  the  opposite 
shores  of  Jersey,  and  having  for  the  back- 
ground of  the  view  the  distant  hills  of  Spring- 
field, in  which  very  hills,  by  a  singular  coinci- 
dence, he  found,  in  later  years,  that  quiet  rural 
retreat  he  always  longed  for. 

In  this  little  '  sanctum '  surrounded,  or  to 
speak  more  justly,  walled  in,  by  piles  of  folios 
and  heaps  of  pamphlets,  through  the  zigzag 
mazes  of  which  it  was  no  easy  matter  for  a 
stranger  to  make  his  way,  did  our  young  theo- 
logian entrench  himself,  passing  every  minute, 
both  of  the  day  and  night,  that  could  be 
snatched  from  sleep  or  hasty  meals,  or  spared 
from  the  higher  claims  of  parochial  duty. 
These  latter  interruptions  were  so  numerous, 
that  to  one  less  vigorously  resolute  in  gathering 
up  the  scattered  crumbs  of  time,  they  would  have 
been  pleaded  as  a  sufficient  apology  for  the 
remission  of  all  study  beyond  necessary  prepa- 
ration for  the  pulpit. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  47 

But  with  Mr.  Hobart  such  was  not  the  spirit 
either  of  the  man  or  the  minister.  By  nature 
he  loved  labor,  and  by  profession  he  was  bound 
to  it.  Idleness  had  no  charms  for  him  any 
where,  least  of  all  in  the  midst  of  the  *  vine- 
yard ; '  so  that  exertion  was  both  a  pleasure  and 
an  obligation. 

In  the  scale  of  duties  he  placed  first,  as  was 
his  duty,  his  parochial  ones,  and  these,  as  already 
stated,  were  almost  unintermitted.  Being  equally 
connected  wiih  the  three  united  parishes,  the 
calls  upon  his  time  were  limited  only  by  the 
acceptableness  of  his  services  —  but  that  ac- 
ceptableness,  it  may  be  truly  said,  was  un- 
bounded, the  zeal  and  eloquence  of  his  public 
ministrations,  and  the  attractive  kindness  and 
warmth  of  his  private  ones,  soon  made  him  a 
universal  favorite,  so  that  the  only  wonder  was 
how  he  found  time  for  any  thing  else.  With 
slight  alteration  we  may  apply  to  him  St.  Au- 
gustine's admiration  of  Varro,  '  How  he  who 
studied  so  much  could  write  so  much,  or  he 
who  wrote  so  much  could  study  so  much.' 

What  adds  to  our  wonder  loo  at  this  amount 
of  labor  is,  that  it  was  in  spite  of  much  bodily 
w^eakness,  arising  from  natural  delicacy  of 
stomach  and  occasional  great  debility  of  the 
nervous  system.  On  one  occasion,  as  related 
by  a  nephew  w^ho  was  on  a  visit  to  him  in 


48  MEMOIROF 

1802,  in  the  family  evening  prayer — he  faltered 
— repeated  the  clause — then  stopped,  and  fell 
upon  the  floor  in  a  fainting  fit,  from  which  he  was 
with  difficulty  recovered.  This  irritability  ol 
system  continued  with  him  through  life  ;  often- 
times, as  he  once  told  the  present  writer,  did  he 
find  himself  forced  to  cast  aside  pen  and  books, 
and  literally  rush  to  some  physical  exertion  in 
order  to  overcome  it.  But  in  spite  of  all  this  he 
was  through  life  a  hard  and  watching  student 
— late  to  bed  and  early  up — at  his  books  or 
pen,  in  summer  always  by  daylight,  in  winter 
long  before. 

But  his  parishioners  were  his  first  care  ;  how- 
ever deaf  to  other  calls  while  absorbed  in  his 
books,  to  a  spiritual  one  his  ears  were  ever  open 
— in  comparison  with  such,  study  was  nothing, 
and  personal  ease  was  less  than  nothing — even 
health  and  prudence  were  disregarded  when 
the  question  was  one  of  comfort  and  consolation 
to  the  bereaved,  the  sick,  or  the  dying — these 
once  performed,  with  a  rapidity  of  movement 
that  distanced  ordinary  men,  he  was  again  to 
be  found  at  his  post,  among  his  books  and  w^th 
his  pen  —  entrenched  as  before,  in  his  lofty 
citadel,  from  whence  he  had  been  for  a  moment 
dislodged,  behind  ramparts  of  books  that,  by 
their  perilous  elevation,  as  the  author  well 
remembers,  being  then  a  boy,  threatened  dan- 


BISHOP     H  O  E  A  R  T. 


49 


ger,  if  not  destruction,  to  the  incautious  or 
unskilful  invader. 

With  such  tastes,  and  under  such  absorbing 
engagements,  the  cares  of  domestic  economy 
devolved  necessarily  mainly  upon  Mrs.  Hobart, 
and  it  was  well  that  they  did  so,  since  he  him- 
self evidently  possessed  very  little  of  the  needful 
talent  to  the  clergyman,  of  making  small 
means  go  far.  He  had  little  time  for  such 
thoughts,  and  still  less  inclination.  Few  men 
knew  so  little,  or  cared  so  little,  as  he  did  about 
the  means  of  accumulation.  It  is  not  enough 
to  say  he  was  above  the  love  of  money  ;  in  truth 
it  seemed  to  offer  to  him  no  attractions.  It  was 
to  him  a  means  and  nothing  else,  and  therefore 
too  little  thought  of  to  be  always  within  his  reach. 
In  the  use  of  money  he  was  thoughtless  and  al- 
most prodigal,  not  indeed  for  himself,  but  for  any 
good  he  had  in  hand.  His  own  habits,  too,  were 
rather  to  be  termed  simple  than  frugal,  and 
against  two  sources  of  expense,  even  when  at 
the  poorest,  his  heart  was  never  proof,  the  call 
of  charity,  and  the  love  of  books, — in  the  one 
case,  the  melting  heart  overpowered  him  ;  in  the 
other,  the  craving  of  the  student ;  and  to  both 
his  purse  was  more  freely  and  frequently  opened 
than  his  scanty  means  could  well  afford. 

But  however  inconsistent  such  expenditure 
might  have  been  with  his   purse,  it  was  well 


50  MEMOIROF 

suited  to  his  profession,  and  in  his  case,  as  we 
may  trust  in  like  circumstances  it  always 
will  be,  God's  blessing  more  than  returned 
what  a  selfish  prudence  would  not  have  ex- 
pended :  that  which  was  cast  upon  the  waters 
after  many  days  came  back  to  him,  and  a  circle 
of  kind  and  Christian  friends  became  to  their 
pastor  a  stronger  barrier  against  worldly  want 
than  the  most  penurious  economy  could  possibly 
have  erected. 

The  rough  draft  of  a  note  found  among  his 
papers  illustrates  this  fact,  and  exhibits  his  feel- 
ings on  one  of  those  occasions  most  trying  to  the 
sensitive  mind,  and  it  is  here  inserted,  even  at 
some  risk  of  censure,  to  show  the  truly  Christian 
spirit  which  humbles  its  own  feelings  for  the 
gratification  of  others.  It  is  thus  endorsed  :  — 
'Wednesday,  January  26,  1803.  In  answer  to 
a  note  which  I  accidentally  discovered  to  be 
from  ....  and  ....  enclosing  ^'100,'  (a 
sum,  the  author  would  add,  greater  then  than 
now.)     The  contents  are  as  follows  : 

'From  a  circumstance  which  could  not  have  been 
foreseen,  Mr.  Hobart  is  enabled  (as  he  believes)  to  fix 
with  certainty  upon  the  friends  to  whom  he  is  indebted 
for  a  valuable  enclosure  last  evening.  "While  on  the 
one  hand  he  almost  regrets  a  discovery  which  deprives 
them  of  the  gratification  of  doing  good  unknown  ;  on 
the  other  he  feels  pleasure  in  being  able  to  direct  the 


BISHOP     II  OBART.  51 

sentiment  of  gratitude  to  the  proper  object,  and  surely 
the  favor  itself,  and  the  manner  of  conferring  it,  both 
call  for  the  warmest  acknowledgment.  From  some  he 
would  hesitate  to  accept  so  valuable  a  gift,  to  which  he 
can  lay  no  claim ;  but  he  should  have  to  reproach  him- 
self with  wanting  the  spirit  of  that  divine  Master  in 
whose  service  he  is  engaged,  if  pride  should  prevent 
him  receiving  favors  from  Christian  friends  upon  Chris- 
tian principles.  He  Avill  not  wound  the  delicacy  of  his 
friends  by  giving  vent  to  the  feelings  their  unexpected 
kindness  has  excited ;  but  they  must  permit  him  to  say 
such  feelings  arise  not  only  for  the  favor  conferred,  but 
from  regarding  it  as  an  evidence  of  that  disinterested 
Christian  benevolence  which  has  long  distinguished 
them,  and  for  which  he  trusts  they  will  not  be  without 
their  reward.' 

One  anecdote  of  his  own  well-timed  bounty 
occurs  to  memory.  One  Sunday  morning  about 
the  hour  of  service,  a  note  was  handed  him  in 
the  vestry-room  from  a  penniless  young  French- 
man, soliciting  aid,  in  phrase  whose  meaning 
was  clearer  than  its  grammar.  '  I  shall  not  dig,' 
said  the  applicant,  '  I  must  not  beg  —  I  am  not 
able  to  starve.'  But  it  was  language  which  the 
heart  understood.  I  inquired  the  answer.  It 
was  an  enclosure  of  ten  dollars,  a  sum  as  far 
beyond  at  that  time  the  means  of  the  giver,  as 
it  probably  was  beyond  the  expectations  of  the 
receiver  ;  but  the  event  proved  that  it  went  not 
beyond  his  merits.  About  a  twelvemonth  after- 
ward it  was  returned  to  Mr.  Hobart  with  a  letter 


b-2  MEMOIROF 

of  thanks,  written  in  less  dubious  English,  and 
stating  that  the  loan  he  made  had  saved  the 
writer  from  despair ;  had  given  him  heart  and 
means  to  offer  himself  as  a  teacher  of  drawing, 
the  profits  of  which  now  enabled  him  to  return 
the  sum  lent,  with  a  thousand  thanks  and  a 
hearty  blessing. 

Such  a  youth  deserved  success,  and  it  is 
agreeable  to  think  that  he  attained  it.  An 
honorable  and  successful  course  followed  upon 
this  right  beginning,  and  he  now  looks  back 
with  gratitude  to  the  memory  of  one,  who,  amid 
his  own  wants,  could  yet  compassionate  and 
trust  a  friendless  and  helpless  stranger. 

The  following,  among  some  chance  notes 
preserved,  though  without  date,  and  probably 
some  years  later,  show^s  his  own  delicacy  in 
receiving  favors. 

TO  DR.  J.  C.  OSBORN. 

*  July  23. 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  attentions  to  my  family,  marked  not  only  by 
professional  skill,  but  by  tenderness  and  affection,  have 
laid  me  under  a  debt  of  gratitude  not  to  be  cancelled  by 
any  pecuniary  compensation.  This,  however,  is  an  act 
of  justice,  and  should  the  enclosed  be  less  than  your 
customary  demands,  I  beg  that  you  will  lay  me  under 
additional  obligations  to  you  by  informing  me.  Permit 
me  to  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  to  you  how 
much  solicitude  I  feel  for  the  preservation  of  a  life  so 


B  I  S  H  0  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  53 

valuable  to  your  friends  and  to  society,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  subscribe  myself,  not  in  the  cold  forms  of 
civility,  but  with  the  utmost  sincerity, 

Your  much  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

J.   H.  HOBART.' 

The  affectionate  prayer  for  a  life  so  valuable 
to  others,  it  is  painful  to  learn,  was  without  avail. 

The  physician  and  friend  here  addressed, 
himself  soon  fell  under  the  hand  of  disease  :  he 
died  at  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  whither^  he 
had  gone  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  In  the 
pages  of  the  '  Christian  Journal'  we  find  his 
death  recorded,  and  his  worth  more  publicly 
acknowledged,  both  probably  from  the  same  pen 
as  the  foregoing. 

Among  the  fleeting  recollections  which  bear 
upon  his  habits  of  ready  kindness,  the  following, 
however  trifling,  may  yet  serve  to  mark  his 
character. 

On  one  occasion  being  interrupted  while  very 
busily  engaged,  by  a  petition  for  alms,  he  re- 
fused to  be  disturbed,  and  the  petitioner  was 
dismissed.  On  coming  down  to  the  parlor  he 
was  observed  to  walk  up  and  down  the  room 
very  hastily  two  or  three  times  with  his  hands 
behind  him,  as  his  manner  was,  until  at  length 
hastily  saying,  *  I  have  done  wrong  —  I  have 
done  wrong  ! '  he  seized  his  hat,  followed  the 
applicant,  whose  name  and  residence  his  quick 

P  2 


54  M  E  M  0  I  R    O  F 

memory  had  retained,  and  relieved  at  once 
his  own  conscience  and  the  poor  man's  neces- 
sities. 

On  another  occasion,  having  given  in  haste 
an  obscure  direction  to  some  distant  part  of  the 
cit}^  to  an  elderly  country  clergyman,  who  was 
his  guest ;  as  soon  as  he  became  aware  of  it,  he 
snatched  up  his  hat,  and  in  his  slippers  as  he 
was,  ran  after  him  to  correct  it.  These  no 
doubt  are  trifling  incidents  for  a  great  man's 
life,  but  they  speak  forth  the  heart,  and  show 
how  it  was  that  he  won  love  as  well  as  admira- 
tion from  all  who  approached  him.  But  these 
things  were  hardly  virtues  in  him  :  they  were 
rather  nature. 

'  His  pity  gave  ere  charity  began.' 

To  these  already  absorbing  engagements  of 
Mr.  Hobart  was  soon  added  another,  a  load  of 
public  duties  from  which,  through  life,  he  never 
was  afterward  free.  Through  the  friendship 
of  Bishop  White  he  had  been  appointed  Secre- 
tary to  the  House  of  Bishops,  during  their  tri- 
ennial meeting  in  Philadelphia,  in  June,  1799, 
shortly  after  his  own  ordination.  Upon  the 
meeting  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  New- 
York,  in  1801,  he  was  chosen  to  the  same  office 
in  it,  and  elected  one  of  the  Deputies  to  repre- 
sent the  Diocese  in  the  General   Convention, 


BISHOPHOBART.  55 

which  met  at  Trenton  the  same  year.  So  well 
satisfied  was  the  Diocese  with  their  choice,  that 
w^e  find  him  successively  elected  to  the  two 
following  General  Conventions,  in  1804  and 
1808,  the  only  ones  whicli  preceded  his  own 
elevation  to  the  episcopate,  and  in  both  unani- 
mously chosen  by  the  House  of  Clerical  and 
Lay  Deputies  as  their  Secretary. 

In  the  State  Convention,  from  the  day  of  his 
appearance,  he  became  what  may  be  termed  its 
business  man.  He  was  annually  chosen  its 
Secretary  from  1801  to  1811,  wben  elected  to 
be  its  Bishop,  during  the  whole  of  which  period 
its  oflficial  business  rested  on  him.  He  was 
annually  also  elected  upon  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee of  the  Diocese,  thus  becoming  one  of  the 
Bishop's  canonical  advisers  in  all  his  official 
acts.  He  was  regularly  chosen,  as  already 
said,  a  Delegate  to  represent  the  Diocese 
in  the  General  Convention.  In  1804  he  was 
the  originator  of  the  Committee  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel  in  the  State  of  New-York,  and  from 
that  period  was  annually  chosen  upon  that 
Committee — serving  as  its  Si  tary — corres- 
ponding with  its  missionaries,  and  making  its 
reports  to  the  Convention ;  and,  in  1808, 
introduced  the  plan  of  annual  parish  col- 
lections for  funds  for  their  support.  In  1803 
we  find  him  preaching  the  Annual  Convention 


MEMOIR     OF 


Sermon,  and  on  all  occasions  which  called  for 
labor,  zeal,  or  talent,  standing  prominent.  It  is 
a  coincidence  to  be  noted,  that  the  very  first 
entry  of  his  name  on  the  minutes  of  the  Con- 
vention, the  first  year  he  sat  in  it,  is  in  connec- 
tion with  the  principle  that  marked  all  his 
subsequent  course — *Ecclesia  est  in  episcopo.' 
'  On  motion  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hobart,  resolved, 
That  this  Convention  cannot  with  propriety  act 
upon  the  memorial  while  this  Church  is  destitute 
of  a  bishop.^  This  entry  follows  in  the  Journal 
of  1801,  immediately  after  the  resignation  of 
Bishop  Provoost. 

For  the  duties  involved  in  these  honorable 
offices  Mr.  Hobart  was  peculiarly  well  qualified. 
He  was  a  fluent  speaker  and  a  ready  writer, 
while  the  confidence  reposed  in  his  judgment 
and  practical  talent,  placed  him,  even  at  that 
early  age,  among  the  sagest  counsellors  of  the 
Church.  Having  thus  introduced  him  into  a 
higher  sphere  of  labor,  we  turn  over,  as  it  were, 
a  new  page  in  his  history. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  57 

CHAPTER   III.  ■ 
From  1803  to  lS01—28th  to  32d  year  of  his  age. 

Period  of  his  chief  didactic  PubHcations,  viz.  Treatise  on  the  Nature 
and  Constitution  of  the  Christian  Church — Companion  for  the  Altar — 
Style — Criticism  upon  it — Character  it  displays — Companion  for  the 
Festivals  and  Fasts — Church  Catechism  broken  into  short  Questions 
and  Answers — Examination  of  his  Views  of  Religious  Education — 
Companion  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer — The  Clergyman's  Com- 
panion. 

We  have  now  to  regard  Mr.  Hobart  in  a  new 
light  —  one  that  connected  him  more  closely 
with  the  feelings  of  the  Church  at  large — that 
of  a  faithful  expounder  and  able  advocate  of 
her  doctrines,  discipline,  and  worship. 

The  first  in  the  long  series  of  works,  original 
and  compiled,  by  which  his  name  became  so 
widely  spread  and  identified  with  Church  prin- 
ciples, was  a  republication  of  Stephen's  *  Trea- 
tise on  the  Nature  and  Constitution  of  the 
Christian  Church,'  with  such  alteration  in  form, 
and  addition  in  matter,  as  appeared  called  for 
by  the  object  he  had  in  view,  which  was,  in- 
structing the  young  of  his  communion  in  the 
distinctive  doctrines  of  the  Church  to  which 
they  belonged. 

This    little   work   was   published  in    1803, 
anonymously,  partly,  we  may  presume,  through 


58  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

the  diffidence  natural  to  a  young  author,  but 
mainly,  no  doubt,  from  that  simplicity  of  char- 
acter which  on  all  occasions  sought  the  end  and 
not  self-glory  ;  for  so  soon  as  his  name  could 
give  weight  to  his  opinions,  he  scrupled  not,  with 
equal  simplicity,  to  annex  it. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  (1804) 
appeared  '  A  Companion  for  the  Altar,  or  Week's 
Preparation  for  the  Holy  Communion.'  This 
work  was  also,  in  part,  a  compilation,  especially 
in  the  explanatory  portions  ;  the  devotional  part, 
however,  is  chiefly  original,  and  bears  the  im- 
press of  its  author — ardent  alike  in  thought  and 
language — sometimes  verging  to  an  extreme 
which  a  rigid  taste  might  condemn,  but  never 
wanting  in  the  higher  requisite  of  heartfelt 
sincerity.  But  the  literary  merit  of  the  work  is  a 
secondary  question,  and  may  be  hereafter  con- 
sidered ;  a  greater  and  more  interesting  one  is, 
what  is  its  tone  of  doctrine.  Now  this  being 
the  first  occasion  on  which  Mr.  Hobart's  doc- 
trinal views  have  come  up,  or  could  be  made 
known  from  his  own  words,  it  may  be  proper  to 
enlarge  somewhat  more  upon  this  volume  than 
its  comparative  merits  would  seem  to  demand. 

The  following  extract  from  the  preface  con- 
tains, in  few  words,  the  principles  of  the  author, 
as  exemplified,  not  only  in  this,  but  in  all  his  suc- 
ceeding writings,  for  what  he  had  once  adopted 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  59 

upon  conviction,  he  continued  to  liold  without 
wavering. 

'  In  the  following-  pages  the  writer  has  en- 
deavored to  keep  in  view  two  principles  which 
he  deems  most  important  and  fundamental. 
These  principles  are,  That  we  are  saved  from 
the  guilt  and  dominion  of  sin  by  the  divine 
merits  and  grace  of  a  crucified  Redeemer  ;  and 
that  the  merits  and  grace  of  this  Redeemer  are 
applied  to  the  so  id  of  the  believer  b}^  devout 
and  humble  participation  in  the  ordinances  of 
the  Church,  administered  by  a  priesthood  who 
derive  their  authority,  by  regular  transmission, 
from  Christ,  the  divine  Head  of  the  Church, 
and  the  source  of  all  the  power  in  it.' 

After  referring  these  principles  to  the  primi- 
tive Church,  he  goes  on  to  add,  '  Could  Chris- 
tians  be   persuaded  heartily  to  embrace   these 
principles,  and  to  regulate  their  faith  and  con- 
duct by  them,  the  Church  w^ould  be  rescued  on 
the  one  hand  from  those  baneful  opinions  which 
are  reducing  the  Gospel  to  a  cold,   unfruitful, 
and  comfortless  system  of  heathen  morals  ;  and, 
on  the  other,  from  that  wild  spirit  of  enthusiasm 
and    irregular    zeal    which,    contemning    the 
divinely-constituted  government  and  priesthood 
of  the  Church,  is  destroying  entirely  her  order, 
unity  and  beauty,  and  undermining  the  founda- 
tions of  sound  and  sober  piety.' 


60  MEMOIROF 

Now  from  these  views  of  Christian  truth  and 
order,  Mr.  Hobart  never  deviated.  '  The  Gos- 
pel in  the  Church '  was  his  motto :  united  in 
the  beginning  by  divine  authority,  man,  he  con- 
tended, had  no  right  to  put  them  asunder.  Their 
separation  might  be  pardonable  through  igno- 
rance, or  excusable  through  necessity,  but  never 
justifiable  upon  principle.  *  Primitive  faith  and 
apostolic  order '  were,  therefore,  the  distinctive 
marks  of  the  Church  ;  and  they  who  professed 
to  belong  to  her  communion  were  bound  to 
understand  and  recognise  them  :  the  one  as  the 
end,  the  other  as  tlie  appointed  means,  but  both 
obligatory.  When  asked  if  the  Church  was  to 
be  spread  every  where,  '  Yes,'  said  he,  '  could  I 
send  my  voice  into  every  part  of  Zion,  I  would 
send  with  it  this  holy  watchword  —  "  the 
Church,"  in  her  faith,  her  ministry,  her  order, 
her  worship,  in  all  her  great  distinctive  princi- 
ples— maintain  her  at  all  hazards.' 

Such  were  the  doctrines  laid  down  :  how 
received  within  the  Ciiurch,  and  attacked  from 
without,  will  hereafter  appear  from  the  contro- 
versies to  which  they  led  ;  at  present  we  turn 
our  attention  to  another  feature  of  the  work 
equally  characteristic  of  its  author,  and  equally 
obnoxious  at  the  time  to  criticism  or  censure. 
The  meditations  and  prayers  added  by  himself 
were,  as  already  stated,  in  a  strain  of  fervor  cer- 


BISHOPHOBART.  61 

tainly  unusual  in  the  language  of  Churchmen, 
at  least  in  that  day.  On  this  ground  the  work 
by  many  was  condemned  ;  but  before  sanction- 
ing such  condemnation  let  us  hear  his  defence. 

*  It  may  possibly  be  objected  to  the  strain  of 
devotion  in  this  work  that  it  is  visionary  and 

enthusiastic But  the  appeal  may  be  made 

to  the  primitive  fathers  who  poured  forth  their 
devotional  feelings  in  language  the  most  ardent 
and  impassioned.  The  divines  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  imbibed  their  principles  and 
their  piety  at  the  pure  fountain  of  the  primitive 
Church,  are  distinguished  for  their  lively  and 
animating  fervor.  The  writings  of  the  venerable 
Bishop  Andrews,  of  Bishop  Taylor,  Bishop  Kenn, 
Bishop  Hall,  Dean  Hickes,  Dean  Stanhope, 
Bishop  Wilson,  and  the  late  eloquent  and  pious 
Bishop  Home,  not  less  instruct  by  sound  and 
forcible  reasoning,  than  animate  and  warm  by 
the  sacred  fervor  that  pervades  them.  Far  be  it 
from  the  writer,  humble  in  attainments  as  in 
years,  to  presume  to  range  himself  even  in  the 
lowest  seat  with  these  eminently  distinguished 
servants  of  the  sanctuary.  Happy  may  he 
esteem  himself,  if  from  the  study  of  their  works, 
which,  next  to  the  inspired  volume,  he  cherishes 
as  the  invaluable  standard  of  his  principles  and 
the  animating  guide  of  his  devotions,  he  has 
caught  even  a  feeble  spark  of  that  celestial 
G 


62  M  E  ]M  O  I  R     O  F 

spirit  which  made  them  "burning  and  shining 
hghts"  in  the  Church  on  earth,  and  has  pre- 
pared them  for  the  highest  seats  of  glory  in  the 
Church  triumphant.'* 

But  be3^ond  this  appeal  to  the  spirit  of  a  purer 
age,  there  was  a  more  conclusive  argument, 
though  one  which  it  became  not  the  author  to 
urge.  It  was  the  language  of  his  heart ;  of  a 
heart  which  nature  had  made  ardent,  and  grace 
had  awakened  to  a  deep  sense  of  redeeming  love ; 
therefore  it  was,  that  it  breathed  forth  its  aspira- 
tions to  heaven  in  a  strain  which  to  minds  of  a 
colder  temperament  appeared  false  or  enthusi- 
astic. To  him  may  be  applied  in  due  measure 
the  words  of  the  holy  Psalmist,  *  My  heart  was 
hot  within  me  ;  while  I  was  musing,  the  fire 
burned,  then  spake  I  with  my  tongue.' 

Such  a  work,  and  in  such  a  spirit,  was  at  the 
time  greatly  needed.  The  piety  of  Churchmen 
had  certainly  waxed  cold  ;  the  spiritual  tone  of 
devotion  was  too  often  wanting  in  their  writings, 
if  not  in  their  feelings  ;  and  nothing  was  more 
likely  to  effect  a  change  than  such  a  '  manual,' 
set  forth  by  one  so  deservedly  popular  among 
them  as  was  their  young  pastor. 

How  far  the  works  of  Mr.  Hobart  operated 
to  produce  this  desirable   end,  it  may  not  be 

♦  Page  5. 


BI  SHO  P     H  0  B  ART.  G3 

easy  to  estimate.  That  the  effect  has  been 
produced  is  unquestionable  ;  so  that  sentiments 
then  condemned  by  Churchmen  as  enthusiastic 
will  now  be  approved  by  them  as  evangelical. 
The  following  extract  may  be  taken  as  a  speci- 
men of  what  could  then  provoke  the  charge  of 
extravagance.  It  is  from  the  prayer  for  Wednes- 
day Evening. 

'  O  most  compassioDate  Father!  hear  and  accept  the 
sincere  voavs  of  duty  which  I  offer  at  thy  throne.  Thee, 
O  God,  I  desire  to  choose  as  my  refuge  and  my  portion. 
To  thy  glory  and  praise  I  resolve  to  devote  all  the 
powers  of  my  soul :  for  that  purity  which  will  conform 
me  to  thy  image  I  ardently  pant ;  resolutely  do  I  engage 
to  fulfil  all  thy  commands ;  cheerfully  will  I  sustain  all 
the  sacrifices  which  thy  service  may  require  me  to 
make ;  vigorously  will  I  oppose  the  temptations  and 
difficulties  that  would  seduce  or  intimidate  my  alle- 
giance to  thee:  to  thy  disposal  I  resign  myself;  pa- 
tiently will  I  submit  to  all  the  chastenings  of  thy  hand. 
Thou  knowest  the  humble  sincerity  of  my  heart ;  thou 
knowest  also,  O  God,  its  weakness  and  depravity.  0 
save  me  from  a  presumptuous  dependence  on  my  own 
strength.  Teach  me  evermore  to  rely  on  thee,  and  to 
implore  the  succors  of  thy  Holy  Spirit.'  * 

Again,  from  the  devotions  of  Tuesday  Even- 
ing : 

'  Holy  Spirit,  the  source  of  quickening  grace,  whose 
sacred  office  it  is  to  convince  of  sin,  excite  in  my  soul 

♦Page  93. 


64  MEMOIROF 

the  conviction  of  my  weakness  and  unworthiness. 
Blessed  Guide  and  Comforter,  lead  my  contrite  spirit 
to  repose  its  full  trust  in  the  merits  of  my  Saviour. 
Almighty  Father,  whose  just  indignation  I  have  incurred, 
cast  me  not  off  for  ever ;  listen  to  the  interceding  calls 
of  thy  mercy,  to  the  powerful  pleading  of  my  Saviour's 
blood,  and  turn  from  my  guilty  soul  the  severity  of  thy 
wrath.  Recovered  by  thy  mercy  from  the  depths  of 
guilt  and  misery,  and  restored  by  thy  grace  to  health, 
purity,  and  peace,  be  all  the  glory  of  my  redemption 
ascribed  unto  thee,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen.'  * 

Whatever  fault  nicer  critics  may  find  with 
such  language,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  there 
is  in  it  much  of  that  which  we  admire  in  Jeremy 
Taylor,  Andrews,  and  other  of  the  older  and 
more  spiritual  divines  of  the  Church  of  England. 
It  is  the  language  of  a  heart  not  afraid  to  pray, 
not  'tongue-tied,'  (to  borrow  a  phrase  of  Cole- 
ridge,) but  yielding  itself  up  to  its  pious  emo- 
tions with  that  entire,  unsuspecting,  unfearing, 
childlike  profusion  of  feeling,  which  marks,  and 
ought  to  mark,  the  address  of  an  affectionate 
penitent  toward  a  once  offended  but  now  re- 
conciled Father. 

It  may  be  satisfactory  to  hear  the  opinion  of  a 
foreign  critic  on  this  point ;  one,  moreover,  not 
likely  to  prove  partial,  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Wilkes, 

*  Page  68, 


BISHOPHOBART.  65 

the  learned  and  pious  editor  of  the  London 
Christian  Journal.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hobart, 
some  years  after  this,  speaking  of  differences 
among  Christians,  he  says,  *  It  will  be  well  if 
all  learn  from  your  devotional  compositions  that 
deep  humility,  that  profound  reverence  toward 
God,  that  deep  repentance,  that  implicit  faith  in 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Saviour  for  pardon  and  justi- 
fication, and  those  earnest  resolutions  and  en- 
deavors after  a  devout  and  holy  life  which  they 
breathe  in  every  page.'  And  again,  speakihg 
of  a  devotional  work  Mr.  Hobart  was  about 
editing,  his  correspondent  adds,  '  The  frequent 
perusal  of  your  "  Companion  "  to  the  blessed 
eucharist  convinces  me  it  will  gain  much  of 
unction  from  the  required  revision.' 

After  such  a  eulogium  it  may  seem  arrogant 
for  his  biographer  to  add,  that,  speaking  for 
himself,  he  would  freely  admit,  that  in  these 
earlier  works  of  Mr.  Hobart  the  style  is  not  to 
his  taste.  He  would  prefer  either  for  didactic  or 
devotional  ends  one  of  a  more  chastened  charac- 
ter, words  chosen  with  more  precision,  arranged 
in  more  natural  order,  and  with  greater  con- 
densation of  expression.  Their  fervid  diffuse- 
ness  cannot  but  be  esteemed  a  fault,  so  far  at 
least  as  rendering  them  inappropriate  interpreters 
of  the  inward  thoughts  and  feelings  of  minds 
of  a  calmer  tenor.     But  this  is  not  to  condemn 

G  2 


66"  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

them  for  the  use  of  others  :  some  there  are  who 
love  to  see  the  rehgion  of  the  heart  clothed  m 
the  warm  colors  of  the  affections,  who  like  not 
the  sober  garb  with  which  nature  in  some,  and 
age  and  sorrow  in  most,  invest  even  the  bright- 
est hopes  of  the  Christian.  To  such  this  manual 
of  devotion  will  be  found  highly  acceptable,  for 
such  too  is  its  character. 

But  when  such  language  is  charged  by 
Churchmen  with  extravagance  of  sentiment  or 
doctrine,  it  augurs  ill  for  the  Church  to  which 
they  belong.     And  such  was  the  fact. 

The  censure  of  the  work  came  rather  from 
those  who  disliked  what  they  undervalued — the 
tone  it  wore  of  deep  personal  religion.  At  that 
time  there  were  many  who  were  for  keeping  not 
only  the  Church  to  its  forms,  but  its  forms  to  a 
cold,  or  what  they  termed,  a  '  decent,'  propriety. 
In  this  matter  Mr.  Hobart's  course  puzzled  and 
dissatisfied  them :  he  went  beyond  them  in 
attachment  to  the  one,  and  was  at  direct  vari- 
ance with  them  in  the  other.  Thev  knew  not, 
in  short,  whether  to  call  him  '  High  Church- 
man' or  *  Methodist.' 

This  was  a  combination  in  which  Mr.  Hobart 
at  that  time  stood  singular,  and  gives  the 
secret, *it  may  be  said,  not  only  of  his  influence 
over  the  Church,  but,  in  short,  of  his  power 
through  life   over  the   minds   of  all  who  ap- 


BISHOP     H  0  B  A  R  T. 


preached  him  :  all  may  be  traced  mainly  to  this 
union  in  his  character  of  traits  apparently  con- 
tradictory, yel  equally  influential.  Heart  and 
head,  enthusiasm  and  principle,  zeal  and  a  sound 
judgment,  this  is  the  union  in  man  of  those  op- 
posing j^o/es  of  human  thought,  which  embrace 
all  its  springs  of  power.  Therefore  it  is  that 
such  men,  in  the  sphere  in  which  they  are 
called  to  act,  carry  the  world  before  them  ;  all 
things  yield  before  the  pertinacity  of  principle — 
of  that  passion  for  truth  ichich  men  call  principle. 
*  Indolence,'  says  Burke,  '  is  the  master  vice  of 
human  nature.'  Men  give  way  therefore,  rather 
than  fight  for  ever — such  is  the  history  of  all 
moral  victories.  To  him  who  urges  an  unpopu- 
lar cause  with  untiring  zeal,  the  reflecting  few^ 
may  yield  upon  conviction,  but  the  many  give 
way  from  weariness  and  faintheartedness,  and 
thus  is  the  world  governed,  and  the  interests  of 
society  advanced,  and  communities  in  Church 
or  State  built  up  and  strengthened  by  the  opera- 
tion of  individual  character. 

In  the  following  year,  (1805,)  he  pubhshed 
the  '  Companion  for  the  Festivals  and  Fasts  of 
the  Church,'  a  work  founded  upon  the  corres- 
ponding one  of  *  the  excellent  Nelson,'  as  he  is 
familiarly  termed,  but  recast  and  enlarged  by 
additions  from  the  writings  of  Stevens,  Potter, 
Daubeny,  and,  above  all,  Dean  Hickes,  whose 


(8  MEMOIR     OF 

*  Devotions  in  the  way  of  Ancient  Offices,' 
seems  to  have  taken  strong  hold,  in  this  in- 
stance, on  a  congenial  mind.  After  a  modest 
notice  in  the  Preface,  of  what  he  claims  as 
original,  Mr.  Hobart  goes  on  to  add, — 

'  But  his  principal  office  has  been  that  of 
compiler,  and  if  the  book  should  prove  a  useful 
companion  in  the  exalted  exercises  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  ;  if,  while  it  serves  to  impress  on  the 
members  of  the  Episcopal  communion  the  ex- 
cellence of  their  holy,  apostolic,  and  primitive 
Church,  it  should  excite  them  to  adorn  their 
profession  by  corresponding  fervor  of  piety  and 
sanctity  of  manners,  the  editor  will  be  amply 
rewarded  for  the  labor  and  attention  he  has 
bestowed  upon  the  work.' 

ut  we  are  bound  to  add,  that  the  execution 
of  such  a  plan  involves  more  than  mere  editor- 
ship. Such  at  least  was  the  case  with  all 
the  compilations  made  by  Mr.  Hobart :  his 
ardent  mind  fused  as  it  were  the  thoughts  of 
others,  and  recast  them  in  moulds  bearing  the 
impress  of  his  own,  thus  giving  unity  to  what, 
in  the  hands  of  most  editors,  would  have  been 
a  rude  and  undigested  heap,  *  rudis  indigestaque 
moles.' 

The  real  merit  of  these  works  was,  therefore, 
far  greater  than  their  reputation.  While  they 
pretended  to  little,  they  effected  much.     They 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  69 

became  standard  works  among  Churchmen — 
authorities  in  point  of  doctrine — and  popular 
manuals  of  devotion  ;  so  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
calculate  how  extended  has  been  their  influence 
— how  great  the  debt  the  Church  owes  to  these 
humble  labors.  The  demand  for  ihem,  how- 
ever, may  furnish  some  criterion  ;  the  copy 
of  the  *  Companion,'  from  which  the  above 
extract  is  taken,  bears  the  impress,  '  Sixth 
Edition ;  Stereotyped.' 

Mr.  Hobart  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  good 
old  form  of  catechetical  instruction  ;  he  not 
only  retained  it,  therefore,  in  the  '  Festivals  and 
Fasts,'  but  greatly  extended  its  use  in  the 
Church,  by  his  subsequent  various  enlargements 
of  the  Church  Catechism  broken  into  short 
questions. 

He  was  a  great  friend,  too,  to  the  old- 
fashioned  mode  of  catechizing  in  church,  and 
thought  it  as  greatly  undervalued^  as  its  more 
popular  substitutes  were  overvalued.  One  cause 
of  this  disparagement  of  catechizing,  he  con- 
sidered to  arise  from  the  hurried,  and  perhaps 
heartless  manner  in  which  it  wtis  generally 
performed.  It  was  a  duty  which  demanded 
and  deserved,  as  he  thought,  the  very  best 
energies  of  the  pastor.  On  this  point  he  was 
much  of  Bishop  Jebb's  opinion  ;  *  A  boy  may 
preach,  but  to  catechize,  requires  a  man.' 


70  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

Now  in  this  estimate,  he  certainly  was  in 
accordance  with  the  purest  ages  of  the  Church. 
'  The  most  useful  of  all  preaching-,'  says  Bishop 
Hall,  *  is  catechetical ;  this  being  the  ground, 
the  other  raiseth  the  walls  and  roofe.'  *  Con- 
temn it  not,  then,  my  brethren,'  said  that  good 
old  Bishop,  *  for  its  easie  and  noted  homelinesse  ; 
the  most  excellent  and  most  beneficial  things 
are  ever  most  familiar.' 

And  what,  we  would  ask,  has  been  the  result 
of  its  general  neglect  ] 

'  Much,'  says  Archdeacon  Bayley,  *  of  that 
ignorant  impatience  of  discipline,  that  ever 
learning,  and  never  being  able  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  ;  that  heartless  indiffer- 
ence which  usurps  the  name  of  liberality  ;  and 
that  licentiousness  of  self-will,  which  marks  the 
latter  days,  as  it  disgraced  the  worst  period, 
perhaps,  of  our  annals, — much  of  all  this,  as 
well  as  of  viciousness  of  life,  and  of  error  in 
religion,  is  owing  to  ungroundedness  on  the 
points  of  the  Catechism.^* 

The  religious  education  of  the  young  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  great  and  good  features  of  the 
present  day,  and  the  pastor  who  should  neglect 
that  portion  of  his  flock,  as  they  once  were 

*  Charge,  &c.     See  notes  to  Bishop  Doane's  'Missionary 
Bishop.' 


BISHOPHOBART.  71 

neglected,  would  certainly  be   regarded,  even 
b)^  the  most  unthinking,  as  forgetful  of  one  of 
his  most  important  duties.     But,  agreeing  with 
all  in  the  principle,  Mr.  Hobart  differed  with 
most,  as  to  the  means.     In  his  choice  of  these 
he  was  far  from  swimming  Avith  the  popular 
current.     *  The  spirit  of  the  age'  (to  give  it  its 
great  name)  was  for  giving  to  children  know- 
ledge,  he  was  for  giving  them  ivisdom.     Others 
were  for  filling  their  memories  with  facts,  and 
exciting    their    minds     by    novelty ;     he     for 
strengthening  them,  by  instilling  right  princi- 
ples  of   action,    and    moulding    them    by   the 
Scripture  rule  of  *  line  upon  line,  and  precept 
upon  precept.'     The  Church  was  not  to  be  in 
the  place,  to  the  young,  of  a  school,  or  a  college, 
but  in  that  of  a  parent,  whose  maternal  care 
was  to  be  shown  by  bringing  them  up  in  that 
knowledge  which  maketh  wise  unto  salvation  ;' 
attaching  them,  by  the  power  of  early  habit,  to 
her  doctrines,  her  discipline,  and  her  worship ; 
making  them,  not  theologians,  but  Christians, 
and  not  Christians  in  a  vague  and  general  sense, 
but  Christians  in  the  Church ;  that  is,  recog- 
nising in  what  it  teaches,  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel — in  the  sacraments  it  administers,  the 
covenanted  means  of  grace — 'in  its  ministry,  a 
divine  commission  from  Christ  and  his  Apos- 


72  MEMOIROF 

ties — and  in  its  services  a  rational  and  heartfelt 
worship  offered  unto  Almighty  God. 

Upon  this  principle  Mr.  Hobart  wrote,  taught, 
and  acted  ;  and  although  then,  and  perhaps 
now,  in  the  minority  upon  the  question,  there  is 
yet  great  and  increasing-  reason  to  think  him 
right.  As  an  intellectual  question,  it  is,  un- 
doubtedly, a  wiser  course  to  treat  the  minds 
of  children  as  instruments  of  thought  that  are 
to  be  disciplined,  rather  than  as  storehouses  of 
knowledge  that  are  to  be  filled  ;  and,  as  a 
religious  question,  there  can  be  still  less  doubt, 
that  it  is  the  will  rather  than  the  intellect. 
that  is  to  be^addressed,  in  forming  the  Christian 
character. 

Indeed  there  is  too  much  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Christian  world  is  already  deeply  suffering 
under  the  results  of  the  opposite  course,  and 
that  the  wild  excesses  by  which  some  parts  of 
the  Protestant  Church  are  now  desolated,  have 
been  but  the  natural  result  of  a  misdirected 
Christian  education.  From  Sunday  Schools 
not  wisely  governed,  have  come  forth  spiritual 
pride  and  an  heretical  contempt  of  authority,,  as 
well  as  Christian  zeal  and  knowledge  ;  the 
fruits  produced  on  that  tender  soil  depending  not 
merely  on  good  seed  being  sown,  but  on  root- 
ing out  likewise  the  tares  which  an  enemy 
hath  planted. 


B  I  S  II  0  P      II  0  B  A  R  T.  73 

'  The  Companion  to  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,'  published  also  in  1805,  may  be  regarded 
as  the  sequel  to  the  Catechism — its  aim  being 
not  only  to  mstruct  the  young,  but  to  awaken 
all  to  a  perception  of  the  propriety,  the  beauty, 
and  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church.  It  has  long  been  stereotyped  and 
widely  circulated,  and  doubtless  been  the  source 
of  much  good. 

In  1806  Mr.  Hobart  put  forth  the  last  work 
in  this  series,  *  The  Clergyman's  Companion.' 
In  this  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  confined 
himself  to  mere  compilation.  The  need  of  some 
such  practical  guide  to  the  clergy  is  evident 
from  the  extensive  and  permanent  demand  that 
exists  for  this  volume  even  in  its  present  form. 
An  original  work,  stamped  by  his  self-devodon 
and  sound  judgment,  would  have  been,  to 
younger  ministers  at  least,  an  invaluable  aid — 
for  certainly  no  class  of  men  in  society  stand  so 
much  in  need  of  a  guiding  and  helping  hand — 
none  arc  so  ignorant  of  the  world — none  so 
inexperienced  in  the  workings  of  human  nature, 
— and  yet,  none  are  so  frequently  called  upon 
both  to  counsel  and  direct ; — none,  again,  are  so 
dependent  for  usefulness  upon  the  opinions  of 
others,  —  and  yet  none  are  so  frequently,  or 
rather  continually,  placed  in  situations  where 
the  opinions  and  prejudices  of  others  are  to  be 

H 


74  MEMOIROF 

met,  resisted,  and  overcome.  Doubtless,  the 
surest  guide  is  from  within,  from  prayer  unto 
the  Spirit  of  grace ;  and  yet,  when  we  see  the 
frequent  erroneous  judgments  into  which  youth- 
ful ministers  are  led  by  an  honest  but  unwise 
zeal,  we  cannot  but  recognise  the  practical  value 
of  such  a  work  as  this  might  have  been,  from 
the  pen  of  one  who  in  his  personal  intercourse 
was  so  wise  and  persuasive,  and  at  the  same 
time  in  principle  so  uncompromising. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  75 


CHAPTER  IV. 
1805—^/,  30. 

Controversy  forced  upon  Mr.  Hobart — Early  History  and  Condition  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  '  in  the  Colonies — Desolation  pro- 
duced by  the  War  of  the  Revolution — Difficulties  which  followed  it — 
Dissensions — Steps  for  obtaining  the  Episcopate — Dr.  Seabury — 
Scotch  Bishops — Bishops  White  and  Provoost — State  of  the  Church 
when  Mr.  Hobart  entered  it — Justification  of  his  Course. 

These  labors  gave  a  new  reputation  to  the 
character  of  Mr.  Hobart,  both  with  the  friends 
and  opponents  of  the  Church,  and,  it  may  be, 
first  awakened  his  own  mind  to  a  true  sense  of 
its  powers,  since  they  involved  him  in  a  pro- 
tracted discussion,  on  the  subject  of  the  Church, 
with  some  of  the  most  learned  and  able  of  other 
communions  —  a  controversy  forced  upon  him 
from  without,  and  one,  therefore,  which,  in 
justice  either  to  himself  or  the  Church  he  ad- 
vocated, he  could  not  avoid. 

But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  their  result, 
the  motive  on  his  part,  for  the  above  publica- 
tions, appears  to  have  been  the  single  sense  of 
duty. 

Rightly  to  appreciate  Mr.  Hobart's  course 
in  this  matter,  requires  that  the  condition  of 
the  Episcopal  Church   at   the    time  he   wrote 


76  M  E  31  0  I  R     0  F 

be  clearly  understood  ;  and  this  can  only  be 
done,  by  giving  to  the  reader  a  sketch  of  its  pre- 
vious story.  The  writer  says  stoi-y,  for  the 
history  of  tlie  American  Church  is  3'et  to  be 
written,  nor  can  it  as  yet  be  done  in  our  country 
for  want  of  the  needful  documents  ;  that  want, 
however,  it  is  trusted,  will  soon  be  supplied  in 
the  enlargement  of  the  library  of  the  General 
Theological  Seminary,  where  '  an  alcove  '  ap- 
propriated to  this  subject  is  due  to  the  character 
of  our  Church, 

The  Memoirs  of  the  American  Church,  b}' 
Bishop  White,  is  indeed  an  invaluable  work  so 
far  as  personal  recollections  are  concerned,  for 
the  period  to  which  they  relate  ;  but  its  full  his- 
tory must  be  gathered  from  that  of  the  Society 
in  England  beginning  with  its  organization  in 
1698 — from  its  multifarious  correspondence — 
and  from  our  own  early  annalists  ;  while  the 
contests  in  relation  to  an  American  episcopate, 
are  still  to  be  collected  from  a  thousand  name- 
less sources  of  local  and  individual  history. 

But  passing  this  by,  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  Colonies,  previous  to  the  Revo- 
lution, consisted  simply  in  members  of  the 
Church  of  England  who  had  emigrated  to  this 
countr}^  and,  with  their  descendants,  were 
gathered  together  in  scattered  and  unconnected 


BISHOPHOBART.  T7 

congregations,  under  clergymen  ordained  and 
sent  out  to  them  from  the  mother  countr}'. 
These  bore,  in  general,  the  title  of  *  missionaries 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts  ; '  receiving  salaries  from  its 
funds  varying  from  40?.  to  lOOZ.,  and  acknow- 
ledging canonical  obedience  to  the  Bishop  of 
London  for  the  time  being,  under  whose  juris- 
diction they  were  placed  by  delegation  from 
the  Crown,  so  far  at  least  as  the  government 
colonies  were  concerned.  In  the  proprietary 
governments  they  were  under  the  same  con- 
trol, but  with  more  limitation,  it  being  part, 
either  expressed  or  implied,  of  their  respective 
charters. 

In  Virginia  and  Maryland  alone,  the  Church 
was  by  law  established,  and  a  competent  pro- 
vision of  glebe  land  assigned  for  its  support  by 
the  colonial  assembly.  In  most,  however,  of 
the  royal  colonies,  it  enjoyed  a  species  of 
government  patronage,  which  gave  it  for  a 
time  a  show  of  strength  which  in  truth  it  did 
not  possess,  and  for  which  it  afterward  dearly 
paid. 

Such,  with  slow  improvement  as  to  numbers 
and  influence,  continued  to  be  the  condition  of 
the  Church  up  to  the  period  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary contest.     At  the  north,  in  a  few  of  the 

H2 


78  MEMOIR     OF 

larger  cities,*  congregations  had  by  this  time 
arisen  with  means  sufficient  to  support  their 
own  clergy  ;  but  beyond  these  towns  all  were 
missionaries,  paid  and  supported  either  wholly 
or  in  part  from  abroad. 

The  evils  of  such  a  condition  were  obvious. 
At  the  south  legal  establishment,  and  at  the 
north  foreign  funds,  made  the  clergy  independ- 
ent of  the  laity,  and  the  laity  imconcerned 
about  the  Church.  From  the  want  of  an  epis- 
copate there  was  no  spiritual  jurisdiction,  either 
to  confer  orders,  administer  confirmation,  or 
enforce  discipline.  The  Church  had,  conse- 
quently, neither  point  of  union  nor  power  of 
increase  ;  its  ministers  were  chiefly  foreigners, 
and  therefore  alien  to  the  feelings  of  the  people, 
while  of  such  as  went  for  orders  it  was  estimated 
that  more  than  one-fifth  perished  amid  the 
perils  of  the  journey. 

To  a  Church  thus  constituted,  (if  Church  it 
might  be  termed,)  the  consequences  of  the 
Revolution  were  for  a  time  fatal.  Identified  by 
popular  prejudice  with  the  royal  government, 
it  fell  in  public  opinion  with  it.  In  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  where  the  Church  had  been 
strongest,  numbering,  in  the  former  alone,  above 
one  hundred  clergymen,  the  popular  fury  was 

*  Viz.  Philadelphia,  New-York,  Newport,  and  Boston. 


BISHOPHOBART.  79 

immediately  directed  against  it  as  the  strong- 
hold of  the  royal  party.  The  clergy  were 
driven  from  their  cures^-the  chmches  shut  up 
or  sold — -and,  in  defiance  of  law,  the  glebe  lands 
eventually  declared  forfeited.  In  the  north,  an 
equal  fate  awaited  it — the  support  of  the  mis- 
sionaries being  withdrawn,  they  too  were  soon 
forced  to  follow  —  the  chinches  closed,  and 
their  congregations  scattered.  So  utter,  in  short, 
was  this  dispersion,  that  for  some  years,  (to  give 
an  individual  illustration,)  the  present  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania  was  the  sole  remnant  of  the 
clergy  in  the  whole  of  that  province.  The 
war  of  the  Revolution  may  therefore,  in  truth, 
be  said  to  have  desolated  the  Church,  for  out  of 
that  struggle  it  came  forth  with  deserted  tem- 
ples, broken  altars,  and  alienated  property  — 
deprived  of  its  ablest  clergy  by  death  or  exile 
— destitute  of  the  means  of  ordaining  others, 
and  laboring  under  the  popular  odium  of  attach- 
ment to  monarchical  principles  and  a  foreign 
government,  and  that  government  the  very  one 
from  whose  thraldom  the  country  had  just  freed 
itself.  Never,  certainly,  was  any  portion  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  a  state  of  greater  depres- 
sion, and  what  with  internal  weakness,  and  ex- 
ternal hostility,  there  seemed  to  be  but  little 
chance  of  its  ever  rising  out  of  it. 

Such  a  state  of  things  it  is  not  easy  now  to 


80  MEMOIROF 

realize,  either  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Church, 
or  the  feelings  entertained  toward  it ;  but  take 
the  language  of  one  who  well  remembers  it. 
'  I  have  lived  in  days,'  says  the  venerable 
Bishop  White,  '  in  which  there  existed  such 
prejudices  in  our  land  against  the  name,  and 
,  still  more  against  the  office  of  a  bishop,  that  it 
was  doubtful  whether  any  person  in  that  char- 
acter would  be  tolerated  in  the  community.'* 

To  add  to  these  accumulated  sorrows,  the  few 
churches  that  remained  had  no  tie  of  brotherhood 
among  themselves  ;  the  external  bond  being 
removed,  they  fell  apart  like  a  rope  of  sand — 
there  was  neither  union,  nor  government,  nor 
strength — each  stood  in  its  own  state  of  help- 
less independency,  fast  tending,  to  use  tlie 
expressive  language  of  Burke,  toward  '  the  dust 
and  powder  of  individuality,' 

In  tl^is  state  of  destitution,  to  crown  all  other 
evils,  the  anarchy  of  heresy  began  to  creep  in 
among  them.  One  of  the  most  influential 
churches  in  Boston,  and  the  oldest  in  the  north- 
ern States,  tracing  back  to  the  time  of  Charles  II., 
openly  professed  Unitarianism,  and  new  model- 
led its  liturgy  accordingly.  Churchmen  in  South 
Carolina  were  for  adopting  a  nominal  episco- 
pacy— the  legislature  in  Maryland  entertained 

*  Dedication  to  Memoirs  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  0  B  AR  T.  81 

the  plan  of  themselves  appointing  ordainers — 
and  Socinian  principles  were  avowed  by  some 
among  the  members  of  the  Church,  and  sus- 
pected among  many.  Amid  these  concurring 
and  overwhelming  reasons  for  despair,  there  was 
but  one,  under  the  providence  of  God,  for  hope 

ATTACHMENT  TO  A  LITURGY,  RATIONAL,  SCRIP- 
TURAL, AND  ORTHODOX.  Had  that  pillar  of 
safety  been  wanting,  the  Church,  as  a  distinct 
communion,  would,  in  all  human  probability, 
have  been  extinguished  :  it  would  have  been 
riven  into  factions,  run  wild  into  heresy,  or 
silently  sunk  into  more  popular  forms,  and  been 
merged  in  other  denominations. 

*  Wo  to  the  declining  Church,'  said  Buchanan, 
as  he  gazed  on  the  Syrian  Churches  in  the 
East,  *  which  has  no  Gospel  liturgy.'  But,  God 
be  thanked,  we  had,  and  it  saved  us. 

Still,  however,  while  destitute  of  bishops, 
there  was  no  security,  for  there  was  no  power, 
and  no  organization — there  were  Churchmen 
but  no  Church — -this  spiritual  boon  had  long 
been  pleaded  for  in  vain  ;  it  was  a  debt  the 
Church  of  England  had  owed  to  her  colonies 
from  their  first  planting,  and  would  doubtless 
have  been  early  given,  but  *  for  the  unreason- 
able jealousies  and  groundless  suspicions,'  as 
Dr.  Chandler  rightly  termed  them,  of  the  colo- 
nists themselves,  which  associated  the  episcopal 


o»  MEMOIROF 

office  with  baronial  title?,  tithes,  and  royalty, 
and  led  the  laity  of  all  denominations,  even  of 
the  Church,  to  oppose  its  introduction.*  It 
was  a  debt,  too,  which  the  English  Church  owed 
to  itself,  and  to  its  own  evangelical  principles, 
and  was  so  felt  by  the  greatest  and  best,  not 
only  of  her  prelates,  but  of  her  laity.  Among 
others  of  the  latter  that  deserve  to  be  recorded, 
is  the  name  of  Granville  Sharp  ;  in  a  letter  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  about  this  time, 
he  urged,  witii  the  spirit  of  an  apostle,  '  the 
unquestionable  right  and  duty  of  the  English 
bishops,  as  Christian  bishops,  to  extend  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Christ  all  over  the  world.'f 
Twice  was  that  goodly  plan  frustrated  when 
on  the  very  point  of  completion.  In  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.,  as  already  noted,  the  patent  was 
actually  made  out,  appointing  Rev.  Dr.  Alex- 
ander Murray,  a  good  man,  and  a  companion  of 
the  King's  exile.  Bishop  of  Virginia,  with  a 
general  charge  over  the  other  provinces  ;  but 
the  scheme  fell  through  by  a  change  of  aninis- 
try,  and  what  Clarendon  had  done,  the  *  Cabal ' 
revoked,  though  the  deeper  cause  probably  was, 
that  the  King  himself  had  no  heart  in  the 
matter.     A  second  time,  in  the  reign  of  Anne, 

♦  See  White's  Memoirs,  passim. 

t  See  also  Letter  to  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  13th  September, 
1785. 


BISnOPHOBART.  63 

was  provision  made  ;  a  scheme  of  four  Ame- 
rican bishoprics  adopted,  and  certain  govern- 
ment lands,  in  the  island  of  St.  Kitts,  actually 
sold  for  their  endowment.  The  death  of  the 
Queen  cut  this  short,  and  although  subse- 
quently approved  and  recommended  by  the  first 
and  ablest  men  of  the  Church,  by  Berkeley, 
Butler,  Gibson,  Sherlock,  and,  above  all,  by 
that  meekest  of  prelates  Archbishop  Seeker,  it 
was  never  carried  into  effect.  Berkeley  not 
only  wrote  for  it,  but  worked  for  it ;  he  gave  up 
rank  and  ease  at  home  to  come  over  and  lay  the 
foundation  of  it,  and  \vould  doubtless  have  suc- 
ceeded, had  not  the  provision  for  it  been  basely 
withdrawn  after  the  accession  of  the  House  of 
Hanover — an  act  worthy  of  a  court  where  '  Wal- 
pole  ruled,  and  Hoadley  preached.'  But  the 
godless  union  of  Church  and  State  forbade  it, 
and  the  time  for  action  passed  by. 

After  the  separation,  the  question  arose,  both 
in  England  and  America,  on  new  grounds. 
The  churches  m  the  States  Avere  now  their  own 
masters,  and  it  rested  with  themselves  to  say, 
whether  they  should  seek  an  Episcopacy  or  not, 
and  when,  and  where.  On  these  points  there 
was  not  a  cordial  agreement ;  so  far  from  it,  that 
to  the  providence  of  Got)  we  seem  alone  indebted 
for  overruling  the  many  sources  of  dissension  that 
were  then  opened.     How  they  were  overcome 


84  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

is  a  story  too  long  here  to  tell,  but  too  instruct- 
ive wholly  to  be  passed  over. 

Tne  middle  and  southern  States  were  for 
delay  ;  *  Let  us  first  gather  together,'  said  they, 
'  our  scattered  members.'  The  language  of  the 
east  and  north  was  wiser ;  *  Let  us  first  have 
a  head  to  see,  and  then  we  shall  be  better 
enabled  to  find  our  members.'  * 

Even  on  this  point  we  see  how  easily  divisions 
might  have  run  into  schism — each  party  went 
on  its  own  principle  and  sought  its  own  end, 
until  mutual  failure  brought  them  back  to  con- 
cord. The  clergy  in  Connecticut  and  New- 
York,  in  1783,  sent  over  Dr.  Samuel  Seabury 
to  England  for  consecration,  without  communi- 
cation with  the  rest,  and  with  what  feeling 
toward  the  contemporary  measures  of  the  south, 
may  be  judged  of  by  the  concluding  sentence 
of  their  letter  soliciting  his  consecration.  *  And 
we  cannot  forbear,'  say  they,  '  to  express  our 
most  earnest  wish  that  Dr.  Seabury  may  suc- 
ceed in  this  application,  as  it  will  be  the 
means  of  preserving  the  Church  of  England, 
in  America,  from  ruin,  and  of  preventing  many 
irregularities  which  we  see  approaching,  and 
which,  if  once  introduced,  no  after  care  may  be 

*  White's  Memoirs. 


BISHOPHOBART.  85 

able  to  remove.'  *  Those  again  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  South,  met  in  partial  convention 
the  following  year,  to  consider  of  the  changes 
demanded  in  the  Liturgy  and  Articles. 

But  the  questions  agitated  went  further — 
even  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Chmch.  That 
the  author  does  not  exaggerate  the  risk  then 
run,  is  vouched  by  the  words  of  one  who  was, 
under  Divme  Providence,  the  leader  to  good 
of  these  divided  counsels.  The  language  of 
Bishop  White  in  relation  to  this  Convention  is, 
that  *  he  looks  back  with  a  remnant  of  uneasy 
sensation  at  the  hazard  which  this  question  (of 
seeking  the  episcopate)  run  ;  and  at  the  proba- 
bility which  then  threatened  that  the  determi- 
nation might  be  contrary  to  what  took  place.' 
Speaking  of  the  committee  of  nine,  to  whom 
the  subject  was  referred,  he  adds,  '  We  sat  up 
the  whole  of  the  succeeding  night  digesting  the 
determinations  in  the  form  in  which  they  appear 
on  the  Journal.'  f 

But  the  fate  of  a  divided  house  was  upon 
them.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  declined 
consecrating  Dr.  Seabury  on  this  ground,  among 

♦  Testimonial,  &c.,  addressed  to  the  "Archbishop  of  York 
the  primacy  being  at  the  time  vacant,  dated  New-York,  21st 
April,  1783. 

1  White's  Memoirs,  p.  132. 
I 


86  MEMOIROF 

others,  that  he  was  not  the  choice  of  the  Church 
at  large ;  while  the  Convention  summoned  to 
make  alterations,  went  so  far  in  the  work  of 
change  as  to  defeat  their  own  subsequent  appli- 
cation for  a  similar  favor.  The  '  Proposed  Book,' 
under  which  awkward  title  their  new  liturgy 
came  forth,  was  certainly  an  unauthorized  and 
dangerous  act,  tending  to  widen  still  further 
the  growing  breach  with  the  North. 

The  following  anecdote,  as  related  by  an 
ear-witness,  is  not,  however  homely,  without  its 
truth  and  force.  During  the  sitting  of  the 
Convention  that  engaged  in  this  amendment  of 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  a  lady  of  excel- 
lent understanding  being  often  in  the  way  of 
hearing  the  subject  discussed  by  some  members 
of  the  body,  addressed  them  one  day  lo  the 
following  effect :  '  When  I  hear  these  things  I 
look  back  to  the  origin  of  the  Prayer-book,  and 
I  represent  to  my  mind  the  spirits  of  the  vener- 
able compilers  of  it  ascending  to  Heaven  in  the 
flames  of  martyrdom  that  consumed  their  bodies. 

I  then  look  at  the  improvers  of  this  book  in , 

and ,  and .  The  consequence  is,  gen- 
tlemen, that  I  am  not  sanguine  in  my  expecta- 
tions of  respect  to  be  paid  to  your  meditated 
changes  in  the  Liturgy.'  * 

*  White's  Memoirs,  p.  319. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  87 

Dr.  Seabury,  disappointed  in  England,  passed 
on  to  Scotland,  and  there  obtaining-  consecration 
of  the  Scottish  Nonjuring  Bishops,  returned  to 
America  in  1785,  being  received  with  joy  by 
Connecticut,  but  frowned  upon  by  Churchmen 
in  New-York  and  the  South,  many  of  whom 
doubted,  while  others  openly  rejected,  the  valid- 
ity of  his  episcopal  character; 

So  strong,  indeed,  was  the  feeling  entertained 
against  him  in  the  Diocese  of  New-York,  that 
in  the  Convention  which  followed  his  return  in 
1786,  its  closing  resolution  runs  as  follows  : — 
'  Resolved,  That  the  persons  appointed  to  repre- 
sent this  Church  (in  General  Convention)  be 
instructed  not  to  consent  to  any  act  that  may 
imply  the  validity  of  Dr.  Seabury's  ordinations.'  * 
This  state  of  things  did  not,  however,  prevent 
him  entering  upon  his  episcopal  functions,  and 
in  his  primar}'-  charge  to  the  clergy  of  his  new 
diocese,  for  to  the  ckrgy  all  government  was 
confined,  his  eulogy  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land is  made  to  bear  hard,  but  not  unjustly, 
on  the  Church  which  had  refused  him  conse- 
cration. 

*  Under  .the  greatest  persecutions,'  says  he, 
speaking  of  the  Scotch  bishops,  *  God  has  pre- 
served them,  and  I  trust  will  preserve  them  ; 

♦  Journal,  1786. 


oo  MEMOIR     OP 

that  there  may  be  some  to  whom  destitute 
churches  may  apply  in  their  spiritual  wants; 
some  faithful  shepherds  of  Christ's  flock  who 
are  willing  to  give  freely  what  they  have  freely 
received  from  their  Lord  and  Master.' 

But  so  far  as  this  was  a  personal  censure,  the 
slur  was  unmerited.  Connected  in  Ensfland  as 
are  Church  and  State,  the  consecration  of  bish- 
ops for  the  American  Church  was  a  political  as 
well  as  a  spiritual  question,  and  at  the  time 
Dr.  Seabury  m\de  application,  the  government 
had  yet  to  learn  in  what  light  such  act  on  their 
part  would  be  regarded  by  the  newly-independ- 
ent States.  However  willing  they  might  be 
personally,  the  English  bishops  had  no  right  to 
proceed  in  the  matter  w^ithout  both  legislation 
and  royal  sanction  ;  and  from  the  novelty 
of  the  case,  were  not  perhaps  even  themselves 
ready  to  move  in  so  new  and  important  a 
question. 

In  the  memoirs  *  of  Granville  Sharp,  who 
deeply  interested  himself  in  the  estabUshmenl 
of  an  American  episcopate,  though  he  seems  to 
have  taken  to  himself  rather  too  great  merit  in 
advancing  it,  it  is  charged  upon  DV.  Seabury 
that  he  conducted  himself  rudely  toward  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr.  Moore)  in  the 

♦  Memoirs,  &c.,  by  Prince  Hoare. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  89 

interview  he  held  with  him.  It  is  due  to  the  gen- 
tlemanly character  of  Dr.  Seabury  to  add  that 
this  is  completely  disproved  in  a  '  Vindication,' 
&c.,  addressed  to  the  editor  of  the  Christian 
Journal,  January,  1821,  signed  '  Vindex.'  This 
signature  being  one  generally  adopted  on  such 
occasions  by  Bishop  Hobart,  would  mark  it 
as  coming  from  his  pen.* 

With  Bishop  Seabury,  it  is  evident,  as  he  died 
in  1796,  Mr.  Hobart  could  have  had  no  personal 
intercourse  ;  but  as  a  writer  and  sound  divine, 
he  most  highly  esteemed  him  ;  had  his  portrait 
suspended  in  his  library,  and  often  spoke  of  him 
in  terms  of  high  respect.  The  examination  of 
the  early  history  of  our  Church,  into  which  the 
present  work  has  led  the  biographer  of  Bishop 
Hobart,  has  led  him  to  concur  in  that  opinion, 
and  to  form  a  higher  estimate  than  he  had 
before  done  of  the  talents,  clear-sightedness  and 
apostolic  soundness  of  Bishop  Seabury.  He 
would,  therefore,  willingly  pay  to  this  earliest 
father  of  the  American  Church  his  feeble  tribute 
of  praise. 

The  inscription  recorded  on  his  tombstone 
in  the  church  at  New-London,  speaks  justly  his 
character. 

*  For  further  illustration  of  the  condition  and  difficulties  of 
the  Church  at  this  time,  see  correspondence  between  Chandler, 
Boucher,  and  Skinner,  in  'Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy.' 
I  2 


90  MEMOIR     O  F 

'  Ingenious  without  pride, 

Learned  without  pedantry, 

Good  without  severity, 

He  was  duly  quahfied  to  discharge 

The  duties  of  the  Christian  and  the  Bishop. 

In  the  pulpit  he  enforced  religion, 

In  his  conduct  he  exemplified  it. 

The  poor  he  assisted  with  his  charity. 

The  icrnorant  he  blessed  with  his  instruction : 

The  friend  of  men,  he  ever  designed  their  good, 

The  enemy  of  vice,  he  ever  opposed  it. 

Christian !  dost  thou  aspire  to  happiness  ? 

Seabury  has  shown  the  way  that  leads  to  it.* 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  (London)  British 
Critic,  his  name  is  thus  introduced.  '  Seabury, 
whose  writings  are  worthy  of  the  best  days  of 
Enghsh  theology.'  As  a  divine,  what  higher 
praise  can  be  given  ? 


But  the  subsequent  applicants  from  New- 
York  and  the  South  had  also  their  own  difficul- 
ties to  contend  with.  The  '  Proposed  Book,'  as 
set  forth  by  the  Convention,  was  considered  by 
the  English  bishops  as  containing  some  danger- 
ous, and  many  needless  alterations  ;  so  that 
after  all,  the  application  for  an  episcopate  from 
the  English  Church  seemed  trembling  on  the 
verge  of  total  failure. 

At  this  moment  another  source  for  obtaining 
Episcopal  consecration  was  opened  through  tha 


BISHOPHOBART.  91 

medium  of  the  Church  of  Denmark,  and  the 
correspondence  entered  into  on  the  occasion 
went  so  far  as  to  obtain  from  the  Danish 
authorities  the  manner  in  which,  and  the  terras 
on  which  it  would  have  been  granted.* 

But  though  such  episcopate  must  have  been 
unquestioned,  still  it  would  not  have  been  ac- 
ceptable. To  the  Church  of  England  the  Ame- 
rican churches  continued  to  look  with  love  as 
well  as  veneration  ;  and  it  was  a  joyful  day  to 
every  affectionate  member  of  it  when  they 
learned  that  in  all  cordial  brotherhood  the-apos- 
tolic  power  had  been  conferred  by  the  hands  of 
English  bishops  on  those  whom  their  American 
brethren  had  chosen  and  sent. 

On  the  4th  of  February,  1787,  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Vv  hite  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Provoost, 
Bishops  elect  for  the  Dioceses  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New- York,  were  consecrated  in  the  palace 
at  Lambeth  by  the  Primate  of  England,  assisted 
by  the  Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishops  of 
Bath  and  Wells  and  of  Peterborough  ;  and 
setting  sail  within  a  few  days  after,  landed  in 
New-York  on  Easter-Sunday,  (April  8,)  —  a 
happy  omen  for  the  reviving  Church  they  came 
to  bless.  May  we  not,  in  truth,  say,  without 
the  charge  of  superstition,  that  it  was  a  notable 

*  Sec   Letters  of  John   Adams  and  M.  De  V.  Saphorin. 
White's  Memoirs,  p.  321. 


92  MEMOIROF 

coincidence  that  thus  brought  to  the  American 
Church  the  most  precious  boon  which  man  could 
give,  at  the  very  moment  of  their  being  assem- 
bled in  God's  house  to  thank  him  for  the 
greatest  of  his  own  heavenly  gifts.  It  was  in 
truth,  as  it  were,  a  resurrection.  Then,  for  the 
first  time,  stood  forth  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  America  vitally  organized,  an  inde- 
pendent and  integral  portion  of  the  catholic 
apostolic  Church  of  Christ. 

But  though  this  long-mourning  Church  had 
thus  '  put  on  the  garments  of  beaut}^'  she  was 
far  from  being  '  clothed  with  strength.'  The 
life  was  there,  but  as  yet  dormant ;  the  spirit 
was  not  yet  awakened  within  her ;  she  knew 
not  her  own  powers.  Other  denominations  had 
from  the  first  been  taught  to  depend  upon  them- 
selves. The  Episcopal  Church  was  like  a  child 
that  had  never  walked,  and  when  cut  loose  from 
its  leading-strings  its  first  steps  were  necessarily 
in  feebleness  and  fear. 

Nor  was  this  all :  its  path,  as  already  noted, 
was  not  among  friends ;  the  popular  prejudice 
was  still  so  strong  against  it  that  a  bare  tolera- 
tion seemed  the  very  most  it  could  aim  at ;  and 
its  laity  were  in  general  willing  to  secure  such 
dishonorable  safety  by  silence  and  quiet. 

At  the  period  when  Mr.  Hobart  came  forward, 

though  the  shackles  had  been  long  removed 


BISHOP     HOBART.  93 

which  originally  dictated  this  timid  policy,  the 
benumbing  effect  still,  in  a  great  degree,  re- 
mained :  her  clergy  were  faithful  but  not  active, 
her  laity  attached  but  not  zealous ;  and  even 
that  attachment  was  mainly  but  to  externals  : 
they  took  but  little  interest  in  her  concerns,  and 
possessed  but  little  acquaintance  with  her  dis- 
tinctive claims.  To  their  ministers  they  re- 
signed what  should  have  been  felt  by  them 
equally  as  their  privilege  and  duty,  the  interests 
of  their  Church  ;  content  with  clerical  manage- 
ment, provided  the  clergy  neither  brought  them- 
selves into  controversy,  nor  the  laity  into  con- 
tributions or  personal  exertion.  A  Church 
that  had  hardly  escaped  proscription,  might, 
as  they  argued,  be  well  content  with  silent 
indifference. 

But  such  policy  little  suited  the  character  of 
the  defender  whom  Providence  now  raised  up  to 
strengthen  and  to  bless  the  Church.  A  bold 
heart  rejected  such  policy  as  timid,  and  a  saga- 
cious judgment  condemned  it  as  false.  Mr. 
Hobart  felt  and  reasoned,  that  for  a  Church  thus 
placed,  between  jealousy  on  the  one  hand  and 
indifference  on  the  other,  no  chance  remained 
but  to  place  itself  upon  the  ground  of  principle, 
and  to  demand  a  fair  trial ;  to  proceed  openly 
and  firmly,  to  instruct  its  own  members  in 
their  duty,  and  if  need  were,  those  without,  ia 


Oi  MEMOIR     OP 

their  equal  rights ;  and  at  any  rate  to  cast  off 
publicly  and  fearlessly  the  unworthy  aspersions 
with  which  it  had  been  loaded  in  the  day  of  its 
weakness. 

These  appear  to  have  been  from  the  earliest 
period  of  his  course  the  prospective  views  of  this 
young"  champion  of  the  Church  ;  and  no  one 
will  deny,  however  differing  from  him  in  doc- 
trinal opinions,  but  that  it  was  the  choice  of  a 
brave  and  conscientious  mind,  to  which  we  may 
now  add,  as  the  result  has  shown,  of  a  wise  and 
sagacious  one.  Of  the  change  he  induced  upon 
the  Church  during  the  whole  period  of  his  min- 
istry, it  would  not  be  too  much  to  say,  whether 
we  look  to  its  external  condition  or  its  internal 
spirit,  that,  '  what  he  found  of  brick  he  left  of 
marble.'  It  was  a  career  of  duty  high,  bold  and 
arduous ;  such  as  naturally  devolves  upon 
strong  and  conscientious  minds  when  placed  in 
responsible  stations  in  periods  of  emergency  ; 
one  from  which  the  timid  flee ;  which  the 
worldly  prudent  are  ever  forward  to  condemn  ; 
and  in  contemplating  which  even  Christian  wis- 
dom, peihaps,  sometimes  stands  at  fault,  from  the 
wounds  that  she  sees  inflicted  by  controversy 
upon  Christian  peace.  It  was  to  Mr.  Hobart, 
therefore,  a  course  not  without  its  trials  as  well 
as  triumphs  :  the  triumphs  were  for  the  Church 
he  loved,  the  trials  were  his  own,  and  some- 


BISHOPHOBART.  95 

times,  as  his  biographer  can  truly  witness,  'hard 
to  be  borne.'  As  a  Cliristian  he  was  reproached 
with  awakening  unholy  contention  by  a  spirit 
of  bigotry  and  persecution  ;  as  a  man,  he  was 
reproached  with  inordinate  personal  ambition, 
aiming  at  power  on  the  plea  of  principle.  Nor 
were  these  charges  wholly  from  without,  the 
harder  trial  was  of  coldness  of  friends,  and  suspi- 
cions from  within. 

But  the  storm  of  controversy  is  now  past ;  the 
censurer  and  the  censured  alike  are  gone,  and 
the  silence  of  the  grave  has  come  over  the 
memory  of  the  contest.  But  while  this  is  so, 
still  it  must  not  be  allowed  to  stifle  either  the 
claims  of  truth,  or  the  demands  of  personal 
justice.     Into  these  then  let  us  now  look. 


As  to  the  general  question.  Bishop  Hobart 
was  right,  he  feared  not  controversy  in  the 
path  of  duty,  nor  should  any  man.  If  any  man 
love  peace  more  than  principle,  him  hath  not 
yet  *  the  truth  made  free.'  Nor  do  the  evils  of 
religious  controversy  always,  as  some  think, 
overbalance  the  benefit.  It  is  the  observation 
of  one*  who  looked  wisely  into  the  history  of 


*  Lord  Bacon. 


06  MEMOIROF 

mankind,  that  it  is  when  countries  are  declining 
into  Atheism  then  '  Controversies  wax  dainty, 
because  men  do  think  religion  scarce  worth  the 
falling  out  for.'  '  So,'  he  adds,  '  that  it  is  weak 
divinity  to  account  controversies  an  ill  sign  in  a 
Church.' 

Controversial  divinity  is  sometimes,  therefore, 
a  necessary  evil ;  without  it  the  Reformation 
could  not  have  taken  place  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  nor  the  Protestant  Church  now  main- 
tain its  ground  in  the  nineteenth  ;  nor  any 
Church  long  continue  in  purity  ;  so  that,  like 
other  evils  in  the  moral  and  physical  world,  it 
may  yet  be  the  means,  under  Providence,  of 
working  out  greater  good — clouding  for  a  mo- 
ment the  peaceful  serenity  of  the  heavens,  but 
clearing  off  into  purer  air  and  a  brighter  sky. 
Nor  only  to  the  eye  of  reason  is  it  a  necessary 
evil.  Scripture  has  made  it,  in  some  sense,  a 
Christian  duty,  and  the  teacher  who  fails  *  to 
contend,'  on  all  suitable  occasions,  '  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,'  is  answerable  for 
the  error  that  grows  up  by  his  neglect. 

But  setting  aside  the  general  question — to  the 
epecific  charges  of  bigotry  and  ambition  brought 
against  Mr.  Hobart,  the  results  of  his  course  are 
a  sufficient  answer ;  the  event  has  falsified  them 
both.  The  Church  he  defended  became,  under 
bis  doctrinal  guidance,  not  bigoted  but  evan- 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  97 

gelical  —  the  Christian  peace,  his  poHcy  was 
accused  of  violating,  has  been  by  that  very 
pohcy,  preserved  and  defended — and  the  man 
accused  of  a  worldly  spirit,  and  inordinate  am- 
bition, lived  and  died  a  humble,  self-denying 
Christian,  with  so  little  of  this  world's  wealth 
as  to  be  often  himself  dependent,  and  leaving 
to  his  children  little  other  inheritance  than  the 
remembrance  of  his  good  name,  and  the  kind 
offices  of  those  who  still  love  and  reverence  it. 
His  course,  therefore,  was  one  of  duty,  not  of 
interest  or  self-glory.  Had  he  consulted  "his 
ease  he  would  not  have  entered  upon  such  un- 
thankful labor.  Had  influence  been  his  object, 
he  would  not  have  chosen  such  unpopular 
ground ;  but,  consulting  neither,  he  devoted 
himself,  faithfully  and  fearlessly,  to  the  task 
that  lay  before  him. 

That  he  foresaw,  on  entering  upon  it,  the 
long  career  into  which  it  led,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  maintain,  it  is  sufficient  for  the  praise  of  his 
sagacity  that  he  never  found  reason  to  alter 
his  course ;  as  he  began,  so  he  proceeded,  and 
so  he  ended,  holding  the  steady  tenor  of  his  way, 
*  through  good  report  and  through  evil  report,' 
refuting  arguments  by  his  pen,  and  calumny  by 
his  life  ;  bearing  down  opposition  by  energy  of 
action  and  singleness  of  purpose  ;  living  down 
prejudice  by  the  virtues  of  a  pure  and  benevolent 

K 


98  MEMOIROF 

piety ;  disarming  enmity  by  kindness ;  con- 
ciliating opposition  by  gentleness,  and  winning 
the  confidence  even  of  his  opponents,  by  an 
honesty  of  purpose  which  no  man  could  doubt, 
and  a  candor  of  speech  which  left  nothing  to 
be  misunderstood.  With  such  traits  for  a  leader? 
we  wonder  not  at  the  result ;  we  wonder  not, 
that  beginning  with  few  adherents  he  gathered 
around  him  as  he  proceeded  a  wider  and  a 
wider  circle  of  attached  friends  to  the  very  last 
hour  of  life  ;  a  circle  out  of  which  no  man 
retreated  who  had  once  entered,  but  which,  on 
the  contrary,  numbered  at  its  close,  with  scarce 
a  single  exception,  every  individual  who  had 
once  stood  in  opposition  against  him.* 

*  In  enumerating  the  existing  sources  of  the  history ^of  the 
American  Church,  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  chapter,  the  author 
should  have  added  Chandler's  '  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson  ; '  the  '  His- 
torical Account  of  the  Church  in  South  Carolina,'  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Dalcho ;  and  the  '  Preliminary '  to  Dr.  Gadsden's  interesting 
'  Memoir  of  Bishop  Dehon,'  a  list  to  which  he  is  now  happy 
to  be  able  to  add,  '  Dr.  Hawks'  History  of  the  Churchy  in 
Virginia.' 


BISHOPHOBART.  99 

CHAPTER    V. 
1803— jEt.  28. 

Letters  —  to  Rev.  Dr.  Boucher  —  Sketch  of  Life  and  Character  —  to 
his  friend  Mercer — Series  of  Letters  to  Mr.  How — Board  of  Trustees 
of  Columbia  College — Mr.  Hobart's  Election  into  it — Members — Di- 
vision— Rev.  Dr.  Mason — Character — Contests  in  the  Board. 

But  before  proceeding  into  the  merits  of  the 
controv^ersy  thus  forced  upon  him,  we  turn  for  a 
time  to  more  quiet  scenes. 

Among  the  college  friendships  which  time  and 
absence  had  not  severed  was  that  with  young 
Mercer,  (the  Hon.  Charles  Fenton  Mercer,  of 
Virginia.)  Upon  the  visit  of  the  latter  to 
Europe,  in  1802,  Mr.  Hobart  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  by  his  hands,  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Boucher,  one  of  the  expatriated  clergy  of  the 
Church  in  the  colonies,  but  at  that  time  Vicar 
of  Epsom  (England.) 

TO  REV.   DR.  BOUCHER. 

*  New  -  York,  November  22d,  1802. 
Sir, 

I  am  sensible  that  an  apology  is  due  to  you  from  a 
stranger  for  the  liberty  which  he  takes  of  addressing 
you.  You  will  permit  me  to  say,  that  feeling  as 
a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  cherishing  a 
warm    interest    in    its   welfare,    I   have    been   led    to 


100  MEMOIROF 

esteem  your  character  as  one  of  its  principal  defenders ; 
and  from  my  connection  by  marriage  with  one  of  the 
late  Dr.  Chandler's  daughters,  to  revere  you  as  his 
valued  friend. 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Chandler's  family  did  not 
commence  until  several  years  after  his  death  ;  I  regret 
this  circumstance  the  more,  as  all  his  papers,  which  I 
conceive  would  have  thrown  considerable  light  on  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  this  country,  have  been 
destroyed.  I  am  persuaded  that  a  Church  in  which 
you  once  so  zealously  labored  must  still  be  the  object  of 
your  solicitude,  and  if  amidst  the  profound  literary 
pursuits  in  which  you  are  at  present  engaged,  you 
could  find  leisure  for  other  objects,  no  person  could 
be  better  qualified  for  recording  and  elucidating  the 
early,  and  the  more  advanced  history  of  the  Ameri- 
can Church.  Such  an  account  of  its  origin  and 
progress  as  you  would  be  able  to  give,  would  be  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  literature,  to  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory, and  to  the  cause  of  sound  principles  in  religion 
and  government.  Should  your  engagements  forbid  the 
prosecution  of  an  extensive  plan,  such  hints  as  you 
might  be  able  to  put  to  paper  would  be  a  valuable 
present  to^any  friend  of  the  Church  here  to  whom  you 
might  think  proper  to  transmit  them.  I  have  often 
deeply  regretted  that  the  venerable  clergy  are  one  by 
one  passing  away,  without  any  exertions  being  made 
to  secure  for  posterity  the  important  information  which 
they  possess  on  the  past  afiairs  of  the  Church. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  you  some  pamphlets 
which  will  give  information  on  the  present  state  of  our 
Church.  In  our  transactions  I  trust  there  are  some 
things  to  approve  ;  and,  it  is  to  be  feared,  other  things 
which  the  sound  advocate  of  primitive  principles  would 


BISHOP     HOBART.  101 

be  obliged  to  condemn.  The  force  of  circumstances  it 
is  not  always  possible  to  resist,  and  the  torrent  of 
popular  prejudices  is  not  in  a  moment  to  be  subdued. 
The  Church  in  this  quarter  is,  I  trust,  brightening  in 
its  prospects.  Its  state  to  the  southward  excites  the 
most  poignant  apprehensions  of  its  friends.  The  legis- 
lature in  Virginia  have  invaded  its  property  ;  its  clergy, 
with  grief  be  it  spoken,  are  many  of  them  dispirited 
and  inactive;  many  parishes  are  and  have  been  for  a 
long  time  vacant ;  and  solitary  are  the  instances  of 
persons  of  talents  and  piety  engaging  in  the  ministry. 
Could  some  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  sound 
principles  and  active  popular  talents,  be  persuaded  to 
seat  themselves  in  that  quarter,  Virginia  particularly, 
they  might  be  able  successfully  to  oppose  the  rapid 
strides  which  the  popular  declamation  of  the  sectarian 
clergy  is  making  toward  the  complete  possession  of  the 
confidence  and  support  of  the  people.  But,  alas !  what 
has  a  poor,  persecuted  Church  to  offer  any  of  the  clergy 
of  England  to  leave  their  fortunate  and  happy  country. 

Charles  F.  Mercer,  Esq.,  carries  a  letter  of  introduction 
from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Waugh,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from 
mentioning  those  traits  of  his  character  which  have  been 
the  foundation  of  the  closest  friendship  between  us.  In- 
telligent and  amiable,  ardent  in  his  feelings,  and  per- 
severing and  noble  in  all  his  aims,  he  obtains  general 
esteem  and  respect  wherever  he  is  known ;  and,  what 
will  enhance  his  character  in  your  estimation,  he  has, 
in  this  age  of  degeneracy,  openly  professed  his  belief  in 
the  religion  of  Jesus,  and  among  the  young  men  of  his 
country  afforded  almost  a  solitary  example  of  a  consist- 
ent and  uniform  submission  to  the  faith,  the  ordinances, 
and  precepts  of  the  Gospel. 

Be  pleased  to  excuse  the  long  encroachment  which  I 

K2 


If02  MEMOIROF 

have  made  on  your  time.      Accept  my  most  ardent 
wishes  that  your  declining  years  may  be  cheered  by  all 
the  exalted  rewards  of  distinguished  science  and  emi- 
nent piety.     Permit  me  to  subscribe  myself, 
Most  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

John  H.  Hobart.' 

The  picture  given  by  Mr.  Mercer,  in  his 
answer,  of  the  retirement  of  this  learned  and 
amiable  man  is  so  pleasing,  and  his  remem- 
brance of  his  American  home  so  touching,  as 
to  deserve  extracting.  After  enumerating  the 
members  of  his  family,  the  writer  goes  on  to 
add : — 

FROM  C.  F.  MERCER. 

'  Leicester  Place,  London,  July  ^dth,  1803. 
I  believed,  for  a  moment,  that  I  saw  the  old  patriarchal 
simplicity  revived;  and  I  felt  deeply  interested  in  the 
journey  which  the  venerable  head  of  this  amiable  family 
was  performing.  His  gardens,  his  grounds,  his  house,  his 
library,  and  the  affection  with  which  he  seemed  to  be 
regarded  by  all  around  him,  gave  me  a  very  pleasing 
view  of  his  character.  They  told  me  that  he  used  to 
say,  that  his  three  temporal  blessings  were,  his  family 
first,  his  books  next,  and  his  garden.  He  preserves  an 
affectionate  remembrance  of  our  country.  His  daughter 
pointed  out  to  me  many  American  plants  and  trees 
which  he  had  nurtured  with  great  care.  I  was  par- 
ticularly pleased  with  his  library,  which  is  the  largest  I 
ever  saw  in  a  private  house ;  it  must  contain  five  thou- 
sand volumes. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  103 

The  most  interesting  object  in  it  was  a  pile  of  quarto 
manuscripts,  two  feet  high,  which  comprised,  I  was 
told,  the  first  part  of  his  Archaeological  Dictionary. 
The  unfinished  remainder,  I  understood,  would  occupy 
as  many  more,  and  require  his  unremitting  attention 
for  several  years.  All  the  books,  amounting  to  six  or 
seven  hundred  volumes,  which  he  had  consulted  in  the 
course  of  his  labors,  were  neatly  arranged  in  the  middle 
of  his  library,  on  a  separate  stand  of  shelves. 

From  the  windows  of  his  library  the  Doctor  has  a 
prospect  of  some  of  his  American  trees,  and  of  a  beautiful 
green,  surrounding  a  sheet  of  clear  water;  this  is  itself 
encompassed  by  a  walk  consisting  of  a  double  row  of 
evergreens  and  tall  trees,  which,  obstructing  the'  view 
of  every  outward  object,  must  peculiarly  dispose  the 
mind  to  abstract  study. 

I  bade  adieu  to  this  charming  retreat,  and  this  worthy 
family,  which  reminded  me  sorrowfully  of  my  distant 
home  and  friends,  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day 
after  I  entered  Epsom.' 

The  name  of  Boucher  is  familiar  to  American 
ears  as  connected  with  their  own  history ;  he 
was  one  of  the  most  zealous  preachers  for  the 
King,  in  the  colonies  of  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary 
struggle,  but  he  was  also  a  good  man  and  a  sin- 
cere Christian.  Being  too  bold  to  be  awed  into 
silence,  and  too  influential  to  be  allowed  to 
speak,  he  was  forcibly  expelled,  and  driven  to 
take  refuge  in  England  in  1776  ;  and  was  there 
presented  to  the   vicarage  of  Epsom,  without 


104  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

solicitation,  by  one  whose  patronage  may  be 
taken  as  a  warrant  both  for  learning  and  piety, 
the  Rev.  John  Parkhurst,  author  of  the  Lexi- 
cons, &c.  The  labors  in  which  Mr.  Mercer 
found  Mr.  Boucher  engaged  related  to  a  *  Glos- 
sary of  Provincial  and  Archasological  Words,' 
soon  afterward  published,  a  labor  for  which  he 
was  peculiarly  fitted,  as  being  himself  a  native  of 
the  northern  part  of  England  where  they  most 
abound,  being  the  remnants  of  the  Danish  and 
Pictish  invasions  of  that  part  of  the  island. 

A  more  interesting  work,  however,  which  he 
had  at  this  time  recently  put  forth,  was  a  volume 
of  *  Sermons  as  delivered  by  him  to  his  Parish- 
ioners in  America,'  and  dedicated  to  General 
Washington,  whom  he  describes  as  *  once  his 
neighbor  and  his  friend.'  The  concluding  page 
of  his  preface  may  here  claim  admittance  as  a 
pleasing  exhibition  of  his  own  character,  and  a 
forcible  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  others,  both 
those  who  preach  and  those  who  hear. 

'  If  haply  this  volume  should  find  its  way 
into  those  distant  regions  where  the  greatest 
part  of  it  was  first  produced,  and  there  should 
be  still  living  any  of  those  old  friends  with 
whom,  in  old  times,  I  formerly  took  sweet  counsel 
together,  I  entreat  them  to  remember  me  as  one 
who  loved  them  and  their  country,  if  not  wisely, 
yet  well.     If  it  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  fall 


BISHOP     II  OB  ART.  105 

into  the  hands  of  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
different  parishes  which  I  held  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  (many  of  whom  once  were  my  will- 
ing hearers,  and,  at  the  risk  of  more  than 
blame,  listened  with  a  respectful  attention  to 
several  of  these  very  sermons,)  I  entreat  their 
acceptance  of  them  in  their  present  form.  I 
entreat  them  to  consider  this  book  as  the  legacy 
of  one  who  still  bears  it  in  mind,  with  pleasure 
and  with  pride,  that  he  was  once  their  faithful 
and  favorite  pastor.  In  this  world  we  are 
severed  to  meet  no  more  :  but  we  may  meet 
again,  when,  ere  long,  both  they  and  I  shall  be 
called  on  to  give  account,  (at  a  tribunal  where 
passion  and  prejudice  can  have  no  place,)  they, 
how  they  received  instruction — and  I,  what 
instruction  I  communicated,  and  in  what  man- 
ner. God  grant  that  neither  they  may  have 
been  unprofitable  hearers  —  nor  /,  after  having 
preached  to  others^  myself  be  a  cast-away.'* 

In  one  trait  of  character  he  singularly  resem- 
bled his  youthful  correspondent,  the  subject  of 
the  present  biography  ;  he  was  peculiarly  the 
friend  of  youth,  and  whenever  he  discovered  in 
a  young  man  a  desire  to  do  well,  he  omitted 
no  pains,  spared  no  attention,  and  avoided  no 
labor  to  encourage  him,  and  enable  him  to  run 
the  career  of  virtue  on  the  sound  principles  of 
religion.     That  he  had  the  happy  art  also  of 


106  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

winning-  their  confidence,  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  the  tablet  raised  to  his  memory,  in 
the  village  church  of  Epsom,  was  a  tribute  of 
gratitude  on  their  part,  in  acknowledgment  of 
what  they  owed  to  his  counsels  and  kindness. 
The  political  tone  of  it  shows  on  which  side  of 
the  Atlantic  it  was  penned  ;  it  thus  concludes  : 

His  loyalty  to  his  King  remained  unshaken,  even 

When  the  madness  of  the  people  raged  furiously  against  him ; 

And,  for  conscience'  sake. 

He  resigned  ease  and  affluence  in  America,  to  endure  hardships 

and  poverty  in  his  native  land  ; 

But  the  Lord  gave  him  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before, 

And  blessed  his  latter  end  more  than  his  beginning. 

TO  C.  F.  MERCER. 

'  New -York,  July  9th,  1803. 

I  can  enter  perfectly  into  the  state  of  your  feelings 
with  respect  to  the  English.  You  never  were  very  partial 
to  them,  and  the  selfish  pursuits  and  pleasures  of  a  dis- 
sipated commercial  metropolis  are  not  well  calculated 
to  increase  your  respect  for  them. 

In  London  you  certainly  see  the  English  character  at 
the  worst.  Among  the  genteel  country  families,  I  am 
told,  it  wears  a  very  different  and  far  more  amiable 
aspect.  The  English  are  certainly  not  quick  in  their 
feelings — it  is  not  easy  to  obtain  a  place  in  their  hearts 
— they  even  view  strangers  with  jealousy  till  they  find 
them  worthy  of  their  esteem ;  but  I  have  always  sup- 
posed, that  when  a  person  once  obtained  a  familiar 
footing  with  them,  they  would  go  great  lengths  to 
please  him;   and  they  certainly  possess,  above  every 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  O  B  A  R  T,  107 

Other  nation  in  the  world,  the  means  of  doing  so.  It  is 
one  thing  to  possess  those  qualities  that  in  an  instant 
seize  upon  your  affections ;  it  is  another,  to  possess 
those  that  preserve  and  increase  permanent  regard. 
The  pride  of  the  English  may  be  inordinate  and  repul- 
sive, but  it  is  a  pride  that  disdains  affectation,  that 
scorns  to  use  the  easy  coin  of  professions ;  that  refuses 
to  take  to  the  bosom  every  person  whom  they  see,  at 
the  very  instant  that  he  makes  his  appearance  among 
them.  Scrutinizing  and  suspicious,  they  weigh  char- 
acter, and  then  extend  regard  in  proportion  to  merit.  I 
am  persuaded  that,  were  you  thrown  out  of  those  selfish 
and  cunning  circles  in  which  business  now  leads  you  to 
move,  and  to  remain  some  time  out  of  the  metropolis, 
your  amiable  heart  would  find  those  on  whom  it  would 
repose. 

Did  I  wish  to  flirt  away  a  few  weeks,  to  awaken  and 
gratify  my  volatile  feelings,  I  would  visit  France.  Did 
I  wish  to  obtain  permanent  enjoyment,  to  expand  my 
mind  where  the  most  noble  principles,  the  most  useful 
pursuits,  and  the  most  solid  virtues  have  flourished  for 
centuries,  I  would  take  up  my  abode  in  England.' 


The  following  letters  are  to  another  college 
friend,  his  '  dear  Tom,'  one  still  nearer  to  his 
aflfections,  and  destined  to  be  to  him,  in  after- 
life, the  source  at  once  of  the  greatest  comfort 
and  the  deepest  living  sorrow.  They  are  of 
successive  years,  but  are  given  in  connection 
that  the  reader  may  better  judge  of  the  warmth 
and  value  of  such  a  friend. 


108  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 


TO  THOMAS  Y.  HOW,  EStU 


'  New -York,  July  0,  1803. 

How  can  my  dear  Tom  suppose  that  I  am  not  inter- 
ested with  his  letters.  I  cannot  express  to  you  the  high 
pleasure  I  feel  at  the  increasing  power  which  religion  ap- 
pears to  obtain  over  your  mind,  and  at  the  satisfaction  you 
receive  from  your  theological  studies.  This  satisfaction 
will  increase  the  further  you  advance  in  them ;  and 
should  you  be  led  to  devote  yourself  to  the  noblest  office, 
the  dispenser  of  salvation  from  God  to  a  guilty  world, 
with  the  most  exalted  emotions  I  would  press  you  to 
my  bosom  as  a  brother  by  the  most  sacred  and  endearing 
ties. 

The  study  of  theology  possesses  an  advantage  which 
no  other  study  possesses,  of  at  once  strengthening  and 
expanding  the  mind,  and  elevating  the  heart  by  the 
most  exalted  dispositions  and  hopes.  At  any  time  a 
person  of  your  talents  could  be  of  inestimable  service  in 
this  profession.  But  in  the  present  degenerate  age — in 
the  present  loose  state  of  principles  and  morals  in  our 
own  country  —  in  the  present  state  of  the  Episcopal 
Church — I  should  consider  your  entering  on  the  minis- 
try as  a  presage  of  incalculable  good.  My  apprehensions 
are,  that  with  the  removal  of  those  afflictions,  which,  from 
their  fruits  hitherto  you  should  consider  as  your  greatest 
blessings,  your  present  pious  desires  and  views  will  be 
chilled  by  the  corrupting  influence  of  worldly  manners. 
I  trust,  however,  you  deeply  feel  that  religion  in  its  vital 
power  and  hopes  is  truly  the  one  thing  needful,  and 
next  to  my  own  prayers  to  God  for  you,  I  must  entreat 
you  to  cherish  with  sacred  solicitude  your  pious  im- 
pressions, and  to  hold  that  habitual  intercourse  with 
God  that  will  prove  your  only  safeguard. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  109 

In  any  thing  and  in  every  thing  that  does  not  expose 
my  ministerial  character  to  suspicion  or  censure,  my 
dear  Tom  may  always  command  me.  My  duty  there, 
however,  is  paramount  to  all  others. 

I  have  received  letters  from  Mercer.  He  had  returned 
to  London  enamored  with  Paris,  at  least  with  many  of 
the  people  there.  He  does  not  appear  to  love  the  English. 

Mrs.  Hobart  is  well,  and  sends  her^^affectionate  re- 
membrance. 

Your  ever  affectionate, 

J.  H.  Hobart.' 

TO  THOMAS  Y.  HOW,  KSQ, 

'  New  -  York,  May  1,  1805. 
My  dear  How, 

I  have  been  for  some  time  wishing  to  write,  but 

have  been  at  a  loss  where  to  direct  to  you,  until  Wisner 

informed   me   that   you   were    at   present   in   Albany. 

Would  to  God,  my  beloved  friend,  that  I  could  pour  the 

healing  balm  of  comfort  into  your  heart. 

Mysterious,  my  dear  Tom,  are  the  w^ays  of  Heaven ; 

and  yet  how  often  do  we  trace  in  them  the  designs  of 

goodness  and  mercy.    Affliction  has  been  to  you,  indeed, 

a   useful   school.     It  has   prostrated    that    inordinate 

worldly  ambition  that  would  have  led  you  on  to  fame 

and  honor,  but,  perhaps,  not  to  virtue  and  happiness. 

It   has   directed  your  ambition  to  its  only  legitimate 

and  exalted  object,  the  salvation  of  your  soul  and  the 

attainment  of  the  favor  of  Him  who  is  finally  to  be  our 

everlasting  judge.     May  he  bless  you,  my  friend,  with 

the   soothing   influences  of  his  mercy ;   may  he  keep 

alive  in  your  soul  the  flame  of  piety  that  his  blessed 

Spirit  has  kindled,  and  lead  you  to  repose  on  him  in  the 

fullness  of  peace  and  felicity. 

L 


110  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

I  ardently  wish  to  see  you;  to  hear  from  you  in 
person  the  state  of  your  mind,  your  views,  &c.  TheO' 
logical  truth,  supreme  and  everlasting  in  importance 
and  duration,  still,  I  trust,  engages  a  principal  share  of 
your  attention.  When  you  left  me  you  had  already 
explored  its  evidences  and  nature,  and  had  seated  it,  I 
believe,  in  your  heart,  as  your  guide,  your  safeguard, 
and  consolation.  How  admirably  calculated  is  my 
dear  friend  to  disseminate  this  truth  among  mankind ; 
to  arouse  them  by  its  fearful  denunciations,  and  to 
soothe  them  by  its  melting  persuasives.  Struggle,  my 
beloved  friend,  against  that  propensity  to  melancholy 
which,  like  a  worm,  is  fatally  gnawing  away  the  vitals 
of  your  peace.  Providence,  I  trust,  designs  you,  in  this 
degenerate  day,  for  some  great  and  glorious  purpose. 
Thwart  not  his  designs. 

Do  let  me  hear  from  you  immediately.  Let  me  know 
when  I  shall  see  you.  My  wife  and  three  children  are 
well.  She  joins  in  love  and  in  sincere  prayers  for  your 
happiness,  with 

Your  ever  faithful  and  affectionate  friend, 

John  H.  Hobart.' 

TO  THOMAS  y.  HOW,  EStU 

^  New -York,  October  18,  1806. 
My  Dear  How, 

Soon  after  you  left  us,  my  family  moved  to  Eliza- 
beth Town,  and  I  have  been  so  engaged  in  passing  and 
repassing,  and  in  my  customary  duties,  that  it  seemed 
as  if  I  could  not  seize  time  to  write  to  my  friends. 
but  I  have  thought  of  you  daily,  my  dear  Tom,  with 
the  tenderest  affection.  Your  remonstrances  at  my 
silence  I  value,  as  it  convinces  me  that  you  prize  my 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  HI 

friendship.  Not  more  highly  can  you  prize  mine  than 
I  do  yours.  My  heart  certainly  was  made  to  repose 
itself  on  a  kindred  spirit.  Buffeted  and  depressed  by 
the  cares,  the  selfishness,  and  the  rude  attacks  of  an 
unfeeling  world,  it  flees  to  friendship  as  its  refuge  and 
solace  ;  and  the  long-tried  affection  of  my  dear  Tom,  it 
prizes  as  among  its  hfghest  treasures.  Why  should 
distance  so  far  separate  us  ?  Why,  when  it  could  be 
in  your  power  to  come  forward  with  reputation  and 
usefulness  on  the  most  conspicuous  scenes  of  life,  should 
you  hide  yourself  from  your  friend  in  the  gloom  of  a 
wilderness?  The  ministry  is  your  choice;  you  are 
pledged  to  it  by  the  most  serious  vows ;  you  are  calcu- 
lated for  pre-eminent  usefulness  in  it.  AVhy  should 
you  hesitate  ?  why  should  you  delay  ?  Why  should 
you  risk  in  the  uncertainties  of  business  a  property 
which,  with  even  a  moderate  salary,  would  be  more 
than  sufficient  for  your  wants.  Think  seriously,  my 
dear  Tom.  on  this  most  important  subject.  Never  could 
you  come  forward  with  more  advantage  in  the  ministry 
than  at  the  present  time :  vacancies  are  occurring  here 
which  must  be  filled.  If  you  and  Beasley  were  here 
how  delightful  would  be  the  intercourse  of  our  friend- 
ship; how  powerful  our  united  labors.  Why  should 
you  hesitate  from  the  hope  of  amassing  property,  when 
the  sickness  from  which  you  have  just  recovered  must 
have  forcibly  reminded  you  that  those  things  only  are 
of  supreme  value  which  relate  to  the  eternal  world. 
Independently  of  these  considerations,  I  am  more  and 
more  strongly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  your 
present  situation  may  expose  you  to  unpleasant  cen- 
sures, and  may  prove  hazardous  to  your  property.  Your 
best  friends,  on  this  subject,  feel  no  small  solicitude. 
I  should  have  been  alarmed  with  the  information  of 


112  MEMOIROF 

your  illness,  if  your  letter  had  not  at  the  same  time 
cheered  me  with  the  prospect  of  your  speedy  recovery. 
My  heart,  reposing  in  your  friendship,  does  not  dare 
even  to  contemplate  any  event  that  may  blast  it.  I 
look  forward  with  eager  hope  to  the  period  when  the 
Church,  which  you  have  already  so  ably  defended,  shall 
enjoy  your  professional  labors.  How  delightful  the 
prospect  of  your  being  united  with  me  in  the  service  of 
the  best  "of  masters  ;  in  the  noblest  of  all  objects — the 
advancement  of  the  eternal  interest  of  mankind. 

Let  me  hear  from  you,  my  dear  How ;  your  letters  at 
once  cheer  and  invigorate  me.  I  shall  be  punctual  in 
answering  them.  Mrs.  Hobart  joins  in  affectionate 
remembrance  of  your  wife. 

With  your  faithful  friend, 

John  H.  Hobart.* 

TO  TflOMAS  Y.  HOW,  ESCl. 

^  New -York,  December  16,  1807. 
My  dear  How, 

Next  to  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you,  is  the 
satisfaction  I  feel  at  knowing  that  you  are  employed 
in  defending,  in  this  day  of  "error  and  rebuke,",' the 
cause  of  our  excellent  Church.  Still  more  exalted  is 
the  joy  which  swells  my  bosom  at  the  prospect  of  your 
being  soon  called  to  proclaim  the  doctrines  of  that 
Church,  not  from  the  porch  but  from  the  sanctuary  itself. 
Yes ;  I  can  scarcely  express  the  gratitude  which  I  feel 
to  a  gracious  God  who  has  disposed  your  heart  to  enter 
on  his  sacred  service,  and  for  so  ordering  events  that  I 
have  a  prospect  of  being  united  to  the  companion  and 
friend  of  my  earliest  years  in  the  duties  of  one  sanctuary 
and  one  altar.  Oh !  let  our  ardent  prayers  ascend  to  him 
to  prosper  and  to  consummate  these  exalted  prospects. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  113 

■  The  public  expectation,  my  dear  Tom,  beats  high  in 
respect  to  you ;  I  hear  from  every  mouth  the  inquiry, 
When  will  Mr.  How  take  orders.''  The  Vestry,  in 
particular,  are  much  interested  on  the  subject.  Mr. 
Harrison  appears  highly  pleased  with  the  prospect  of 
having  you  here.  We  have  no  idea  here  that  there  will 
be  war ;  nor  is  there  the  most  distant  hint  of  any  change 
in  the  arrangement  of  Church  matters,  in  consequence 
of  the  rumors  on  the  subject.  The  church  will  be 
completed  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  months,  so  that 
it  is  advisable  you  should  be  here  some  time  in  January 
or  February.  It  would  be  best,  on  many  accounts,  that 
you  should  be  here  some  time  before  your  ordination ; 
your  studies  and  thoughts,  in  the  mean  time,  will  be 
directed  to  the  study  of  theology  in  general,  and  to  the 
preparing  of  sermons.  Of  your  knowledge  on  this 
subject  you  need  be  in  no  doubt ;  still  it  would  be  best 
for  you  to  revise  Paley's  Evidences,  Stackhouse's  Body 
of  Divinity,  and  any  other  books  that  may  refresh  your 
memory.  In  the  time  that  you  spend  here  you  can 
brush  up  enough  Latin  and  Greek  to  pass.  In  fact,  we 
have  all  of  us  such  ideas  of  the  PRovyTESS  of  Mr.  How, 
that  we  shall  be  afraid  to  press  him  too  closely. 

Oh  !  my  long  and  much  loved  friend,  how  happy  and 
how  useful  shall  we  be  when  together.  Let  us  pray 
for  one  another — let  us  pray  that  God  will  make  us  a 
blessing  to  his  Church,  and  preserve  us  evermore  by 
his  Holy  Spirit. 

Mrs.  Hobart  joins  in  love  to  Mrs.  How,  with  your 
ever  affectionate 

J.  H.  HoBART.' 


LS 


114  MEMOIROP 

The  reputation  given  by  these  publications, 
soon  brought  upon  Mr.  Hobart  new  work  for  his 
pen,  in  the  wide-spread  correspondence  that 
proffered  itself  from  friends  of  the  Church 
through  every  part  of  the  country.  To  answer 
all  that  he  received,  judging  from  the  volu- 
minous mass  of  letters  that  after  so  many  years 
still  remains,  must  of  itself  have  been  no  small 
labor,  not  to  say  task.  As  a  specimen  we  select, 
if  that  term  may  be  applied  to  a  random  choice, 
a  few  letters,  from  a  humble  country  clergy- 
man, whose  quaintness,  learning,  and  good- 
heartedness,  cast  a  sunbeam  upon  poverty  itself, 
and  lead  us  to  pity  more  than  condemn  the 
doctrinal  errors  in  which  he  seems  finally  to 
have  rested.  The  following  he  writes  after  a 
visit  he  paid  to  New-York,  in  which  Mr.  Ho- 
bart's  house  was  his  home. 

FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

'  Derby,  June  Ibth,  1805. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

As  you  dare  preach  and  publish  the  distinguishing 
doctrines  and  practices  of  the  apostolic  Church,  please 
to  favor  the  world  with  something  upon  the  nature  of 
baptism.  A  mistake  on  this  point  has  filled  the  world 
with  confusion.  Is  not  Christian  baptism  the  adminis- 
tration oi  water  by  a  minister  0/ Christ  in  the  name  of 
the  Sacred  Three  ?  Are  not  these  three  things  essential 
to  Christian  baptism?  Again,  Is  baptism  and  the 
priestly  character  indelible  as  maintained  by  some  ? 


BISHOP     HOBART.  115 

I  gladly  hear  of  your  zeal  and  the  prosperity  of  your 
Church. 

Local  circumstances,  and  turnpike  contentions,  have 
completely  divided  my  parish,  and  necessitate  me,  by 
reason  of  their  inability,  to  seek  another  parish.  'I 
think  of  Newark.  What  shall  a  poor  clergyman  do 
with  four  or  five  children  ?     Did  not  Paul  make  tents  ? 

My  respects  and  friendship  to  Mrs.  Hobart  and  her 
blessed  sister. 

Your  friend  and  brother  in  the  kingdom 
and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ, 

c.  w. 

p.  S.  This  by  the  hand  of  Mrs.  W.  in  her  way  to 

Newark.' 

From  the  early  opinions  of  his  parish  of  Derby, 
we  may  conclude  a  Churchman  was  not  quite 
at  home  in  it.  About  sixty  years  before  (viz. 
in  1744)  they  had  passed  a  town  law,  *  putting- 
out  of  commission  all  justices  of  the  peace  who 
should  conform  to  the  Church  of  England.* 

FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

'  Derby,  May  6th,  1806. 
Rev.  and  dear  vSir, 

You  see  I  remain  in  Derby;  there  has  not  yet  any 

opening  presented  itself  to  my  advantage,   consistent 

with  a  sacred  regard  to  my  ordination  vows.    Necessity 

may  finally  compel  me  to  relinquish  my  profession — 

necessity,  which  made  David  eat  the  shew-bread  and 

•  Transactions  of  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel. 


116  M  EMO  IR    OP 

was  guiltless,  though  Saul  was  condemned  for  offering 
sacrifice,  notwithstanding  necessitous  circumstances  put 
in  their  anxious  and  complaisant  plea. 

Mjr  life  has  been  but  a  chapter  of  blunders  and  dis- 
appointments— if  I  am  not  disappointed  at  the  close  of 
life's  journey  I  shall  be  happy.  As  to  my  worldly  pros- 
pects, I  see  no  relief  at  present.  My  family  consists  of 
five  children  and  a  wife,  ev  yaarpi  exovca,  for  the  support 
of  whom,  for  the  last  year  and  a  half,  I  have  received 
less  than  ^300.  Sir,  I  have  expressed  my  circum- 
stances more  freely  to  you  because  you  have  shown 
that  you  are  possessed  of  hovjds  of  compassion,  which 
are  not  the  inheritance  of  every  brother  clergyman. 

I  close  this,  happy  in  your  friendship,  and  trusting  in 
that  good  Providence  by  which  men  live. 

Yours  most  cordially, 

C.  W. 

P.  S.  If  Lawrence  on  Invalid  Baptism  is  not  to  be 
reprinted,  I  wish  you  to  obtain  a  set  for  me.' 

FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

'  Derbij,  July  Ibth,  1806. 
Dear  Sir, 

No  man  can  respect  the  talents  of  Mr.  Hobart 

more  than  I  do — no  man  can  love  him  more  ardently, 

but,  in  company  with  Bishop  Horsley,  has  he  not  given 

too  much  support  to  the  Bangorian  doctrine  of  sincerity? 

Bishop  W.'s  doctrine  of  necessity  I  would  send  as 

a  missionary  to  some  desolate  island,  full  of  distrustful 

fears  and  suppositions,  far  out  of  the  precincts  of  the 

Divine  promise.     I  venerate  Bishop  W.  as  a  priest  of 

the  most  high  God,  but  I  reflect  upon  his  doctrine  of 

necessity  with  a  high  degree   of  dissent.     Necessity 


BISHOP     HOBART.  117 

justified  David  in  eating  the  shew-bread,  but  necessity 
never  made  a  priest. 

Again,  Is  there  not  an  incongruity  in  clothing  a  man 
with  authority  to  minister  in  holy  things  of  the  altar 
who  is  not  a  partaker  of  the  altar — that  is,  who  is  not 
a  member  of  the  Church.  Were  there  any  uncircum- 
cised  priests  in  the  Jewish  Church,  even  in  the  wilder- 
ness? But  if  the  laity  cannot  be  cured  of  this  awful 
malady,  I  most  fervently  pray  that  no  man  be  recom- 
mended for  holy  orders  who  has  not  been  episcopally 
baptized.  Let  the  clergy,  at  least,  be  members  of  the 
Church — fieri  non  debet,  factum  valet,  negatur.  It 
was  not  lawful  for  Ammi  Rogers  to  forge  a  certificate, 
yet,  ichen  done,  it  was  valid.  It  was  icrong  for  Herod 
to  kill  John  the  Baptist,  but,  when  done,  it  was  a  good 
thing,  badly  done. 

My  situation  is  as  I  last  wrote,  excepting  that  I  have 
an  infant  son  whose  name  is  Chandler  ;  I  thought  to 
have  added  Hobart,  but  as  I  am  not  probably  out  of  the 
chapter,  by  two  or  three  verses,  I  omitted  it  for  future 
consideration. 

Your  ever  much  obliged, 

C.  W. 

P.  S.  In  reply  to  your  logical  reasoning  about  the 
injustice  of  my  paying  postage,  I  only  say,  at  that  time 
I  had  a  shilling  in  my  pocket,  and  I  thought  I  would 
follow  a  good  example,  and  do  as  I  would  be  done  by  ; 
I  defy  even  a  D.  D.  to  prove  this  unjust  by  any  just 
syllogism.  But  if  you  will  promise  to  say  no  more 
about  trouble  and  thanks^  I  will  promise,  for  the  future, 
to  save  my  shilling.' 


us  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  P 

FROM  REV.  C.  "W. 

'  Derby,  December  9th,  1806. 
Dear  Sir, 

When  you  write,  please  to  inform  me  of  Mrs.  Ho- 
bart's  health,  and  whether  Mrs.  Dayton  is  yet  living. 
You  will  please  to  indulge  a  sympathetic  anxiety  in 
those  concerns  in  which  you  appeared  so  feelingly  alive 
when  I  was  at  your  house.     Will  you  forgive  a  med-  * 
dling  brother   for  just  saying,   that   if  you   will  open 
every  avenue  of  your  soul  to   every  touch  of  family 
affliction,  you  will  die  a  martyr  to  your  sensibility,  and 
sacrifice   upon    the    altar    of  domestic    concern    those 
talents  which  ought  to  be  ever  burning  in  the  temple  of 
God.     Stoical  apathy — modern  insensibility,  is  no  part 
of  my  creed  ;  cool  philosophism,  milk-and-water  Chris- 
tianity, is  no  part  of  my  religion.     But,  Sir,  do  you 
know  that  you  neither  ate  nor  drank  during  the  twenty- 
four  hours  that  I  was  in  your  house? 

My  affairs  remain  as  before;  what  method  I  can 
adopt  to  support  my  family  is  at  present  to  me  un- 
known. As  to  the  Church,  it  is  matter  of  no  conse- 
quence where  I  am ;  it  is  very  little  I  can  do  for  it  or 
against  it.  The  present  aspect  of  things  is  awfully 
alarming.  My  only  support  is  the  never  failing  promise 
of  him  who  is  '  faithful  and  true.'  To  faith  in  his 
promise,  I  hope  to  me  may  also  be  granted  the  patience 
of  the  saints.  I  believe  that  the  spirit  and  sufferings  of 
God's  people  in  every  age  are  remarkably  delineated  in 
that  part  of  God's  blessed  book  called  the  Psalms. 
God  grant,  my  dear  brother,  that  you  may  hold  fast  the 
testimony  of  Jesus. 

Your  friend  and  servant, 


BISHOP     HOBART.  110 

The  author  is  tempted  to  add  one  more  letter, 
as  throwing  new  light  on  Mr.  Hobart's  kindness 
of  heart  and  habits  of  life.  Necessity,  it  seems, 
had  forced  this  poor  scholar  to  part  with  his 
books ;  his  friend  became  the  purchaser,  a  cover, 
it  would  seem,  to  his  benevolence. 

FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

,  '  Derby,  January  20<A,  1807. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

Yours  of  December  26th  and  January  10th  came 
safe  to  hand,  the  first  enclosing  $50,  the  second  $40. 
When  I  was  in  New- York  you  paid  me  $50,  making 
$140 ;  this  makes  the  gratuitous  balance  in  my  favor  too 
great.  Permit  me  to  rectify  it  thus — all  my  books  in 
your  possession  shall  become  your  property,  on  the 
condition  that  you  send  me,  when  I  request,  a  copy  of 
all  your  publications ;  then  my  thanks  shall  close  all 
this  business. 

'  The  burden,'  you  say,  '  of  the  new  year ; '  God  grant 
it  may  not  continue  with  you  to  the  end  of  the  year. 
How  is  it  possible,  short  of  the  life  of  a  patriarch,  to  read, 
write,  &c.  &c.  Sec,  when  your  time  is  at  every  one's 
disposal.  Would  it  not  be  more  comfortable  for  you, 
Sir,  to  receive  company  only  on  one  day  of  every  week, 
or  else  let  your  congregation  be  satisfied  with  a  new 
year's  visit.  Jls  much  time  as  a  clergyman  is  robbed  of 
by  the  self-gratifying  unmeaning  visits  of  his  parish- 
ioners, so  much  real  loss  does  the  Church  suffer.  I 
know  it  is  ditficult  to  change  customs  and  break  habits, 
they  are  the  leopard's  spot,  and  the  Ethiopian's  skin. 
This  you  may  call  preaching,  if  you  please.     It  is  well 


120  MEMOIROF 

meant,  if  not  well  expressed,  and  I  know  that  sincerity 
goes  a  great  way  with  Dr.  Hobart. 

Dear  Sir,  confident  that  the  purest  motives  govern  all 
your  intercourse  with  every  man,  I  shall  ever  consider  it 
as  a  valuable  ingredient  in  that  portion  of  happiness 
allotted  to  me  by  Providence,  that  I  am  placed  in  the 
circle  of  your  acquaintance. 

Your  most  sincere 

C.  W.' 


If  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  the  initials  of 
this  humble  but  pure-minded  man,  a  few  fur- 
ther letters,  some  years  hence,  will  give  the 
melancholy  conclusion  of  his  story. 


Among  the  other  early  marks  of  public  confi- 
dence reposed  in  Mr.  Hobart's  talents  and  judg- 
ment, is  to  be  mentioned  his  election  into  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Columbia  College  ;  this 
took  place  in  1801,  within  a  year  after  his 
establishment  in  the  city. 

The  internal  condition  of  this  Board,  in  being 
nearly  equally  balanced  between  Episcopal  and 
opposing  members,  made  it,  from  the  first,  a 
scene  of  much  animated  contest,  the  interest  of 
which  was  greatly  increased  by  the  talents  and 
standing  of  the  gentlemen  who  composed  it, 
they  being  among  the  ablest  and  most  influen- 
tial men,  not  only  of  the  city,  but  of  the  State 


BISHOP     HOBART.  121 

and  Union.  Among  them,  at  the  time  of 
Mr.  Hobait's  entrance  into  it,  were  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Brockholst  Livingston,  Richard  Har- 
rison, Morgan  Lewis,  Dr.  Bard,  and  Dr.  Mason; 
and  to  these  were  successively  added,  as  vacan- 
cies occurred,  Rufus  King,  Governeur  Morris, 
Egbert  Benson,  Colonel  Fish,  De  Witt  Clinton, 
Oliver  Wolcott,  and  Robert  Troup  :  the  author 
confining  himself  to  names  now  past. 

The  claims  of  Episcopalians  to  influence  in 
the  Board  arose  from  the  endowment  of  the 
college  being  from  them,  while  those  of  their 
opponents  were  founded  on  the  common  interest, 
and  therefore  the  common  rights  of  all,  denomi- 
nations in  a  college  chartered  for  the  benefit  of 
the  city. 

At  the  head  of  the  opposition  to  the  Church, 
which  was  strong,  both  in  numbers  and  weight 
of  talent,  stood  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland,  a  man 
well  calculated  to  wield  influence  in  either  a 
popular  or  an  intellectual  assembly.  Powerful 
with  his  pen,  he  was  still  more  powerful  in 
speech,  for  a  commanding  figure  and  a  stento- 
rian voice,  such  as  he  possessed,  are  never 
without  their  influence  in  debate  ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  his  trul}^  great  powers,  both  of  argu- 
ment and  sarcasm,  seemed  to  justify  in  him 
that  disdainful  self-confidence  of  tone  and  man- 

M 


123  MEMOIR    OF 

ner  with  which  he  was  apt  to  put  to  silence 
opponents  of  whom  he  stood  not  in  awe,  and 
among  the  EpiscopaUans,  at  that  time  in  the 
Board,  whatever  may  have  been  their  abihty, 
there  certainly  was  no  one  individual  who  felt 
willing,  or  perhaps,  called  upon,  to  meet  him  in 
debate ;  so  that  he  may  be  said  to  have  ruled 
alone. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  introduction 
among  the  Trustees  of  a  young  Episcopal 
clergyman,  a  youth  in  years,  and  a  stripling  in 
personal  appearance,  without  name,  connec- 
tions, or  experience,  was  very  far  from  being 
thought,  even  by  those  who  introduced  him,  to 
furnish  Churchmen  with  a  fit  match  for  a  leader 
so  redoubted  as  Dr.  Mason,  or  to  arouse  in 
that  leader  any  fear  of  losing  the  ascendancy 
he  had  so  long  enjoyed.  Such,  too,  was  the 
popular  opinion  without ;.  but  wiser  men  from 
the  first  saw  deeper,  as  may  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing anecdote,  which  is  related  from  personal 
recollection. 

On  a  subsequent  vacancy  occurring  in  the 
Board,  the  name  of  Thomas  Y.  How  was 
brought  forward  by  Churchmen  out  of  doors, 
and  his  election  urged  upon  the  Episcopal 
members  as  a  necessary  counterbalance  to  the 
powers  of  Dr.  Mason.  Among  others  solicited 
for  their  vote  on  this  occasion  was  the  late 


BISHOPHOBART.  123 

Judge  Livingston,  who,  although  not  of  the 
Church,  was  yet  in  general  feeling  with  it ;  his 
reply  was  in  these  words — 'Sir,  the  Church 
needs  no  abler  representative  than  the  young 
man  she  has  already  given  us.  Mr.  Hobart  if  not 
now,  will  soon  be,  believe  me,  more  than  a  match 
for  Dr.  Mason.  Sir,  he  has  all  the  talents  of  a 
leader  ;  he  is  the  most  parliamentary  speaker  I 
ever  met  with  ;  he  is  equally  prompt,  logical, 
and  practical.  I  never  yet  saw  that  man  thrown 
off  his  centre.'  On  some  reply  being  made  to 
this,  his  answer  was  still  more  emphatic — *  Sir, 
you  underrate  that  young  man's  talents,  nature 
has  fitted  him  for  a  leader  :  had  he  studied  law 
he  would  have  been  upon  the  bench  ;  in  the 
army  a  major-general  at  the  least ;  and,  in  the 
State,  nothing  under  prime  minister.'  These 
words,  taken  at  the  tune  from  the  lips  of  the 
individual  to  whom  they  were  addressed,  were 
then  regarded  as  an  exaggerated  eulogium,  but 
deserve  now  to  be  recorded  as  evidence,  not 
only  of  Mr.  Hobart's  talents,  but  also  of  nice 
tact  in  the  judgment  of  character,  a  faculty  in 
which  Judge  Livingston  was  surpassed  by  few. 
Nor  was  this  judgment  (if,  without  arrogance, 
the  author  may  add  his  own)  far  wrong,  for  it 
requires  but  little  observation  of  life  to  recognise 
the  same  elements  of  power  in  ruling  talent, 
however  diversely  directed.     Sagacity  of  fore- 


124  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

sight,  rapidity  of  movement,  concentration  of 
effort,  and  perseverance  of  purpose,  these  are 
in  the  moral  world  what  the  four  elements  used 
to  be  esteemed  in  the  material, 

'  that  in  ciuatbrnion  run 
Perpetual  circle,  multiform;  and  mix 
And  nourish  all  things.' 

Or  to  use  the  language  of  an  older  philosophy, 
(if  without  impiety  it  may  be  applied  to  man,) 
these  constitute,  when  united,  those  first  sources 
of  motion,  (to  xivouv  axivyirov,  '  the  first  mover,  him- 
self unmoved,')  that  each,  in  his  own  little 
sphere,  sets  in  motion  the  world  around  him. 
But,  wiiatever  may  be  thought  of  the  philo- 
soph)^,  it  is  unquestionably  ihe  fact,  that  by  the 
combination  of  these  qualities  is  made  alike  the 
general  and  the  statesman— the  ruler  under 
every  form  ;  whether  by  sea  or  land,  t]iese 
make  the  successful  commander,  though  in 
each  we  find  them  united  in  different  degrees, 
with  some  one  element  preponderating.  Thus, 
the  secret  of  Nelson's  victories  lay,  peculiarly, 
in  concentration  of  effort ;  of  Napoleon's,  in 
rapidity  of  movement ;  of  Wellington's,  in  saga- 
city of  foresight ;  and  of  Washington's,  in  per- 
severance of  purpose. 

Now  in  all  these  four  elements  of  power 
Mr.  Hobart  was  remarkable.  His  sagacity  and 
promptitude  were  subjects  of  habitual  observa- 


BISHOPHOBART.  125 

tion  :  concentration  and  perseverance  were  traits 
in  him  equally  notable.  What  he  purposed, 
he  seldom  failed  to  effect.  Baffled  he  might 
sometimes  be  in  his  means,  but  rarely  in  his 
end  ;  for  he  had  in  perfection  '  ingenium  versa- 
tile,' a  mind  fertile  in  expedients.  Failing  in 
one,  another  was  ready  on  the  instant  to  supply 
its  place  ;  and  the  more  frequent  his  defeat,  the 
more  energetic  and  resolute  became  his  course. 
To  a  mind  destitute  of  principle,  this  were  an 
element  of  mischief,  but  with  him,  of  good  ;  a 
good  sometimes,  it  is  true,  so  distant  as  to  be 
unseen,  or  mistaken  by  those  of  narrower  vision, 
but,  upon  a  wider  survey,  always  good  ;  for  all 
his  minor  aims  terminated  in  that  great  one,  for 
which  he  offered  his  daily  prayer  unto  God,  thy 

KINGDOM   COME. 

The  opinion  of  Rufus  King,  who,  as  has 
been  well  said,  *  was  an  admirable  judge  of  the 
wisdom  and  eloquence  in  others  of  which  he 
himself  furnished  so  illustrious  an  example,' 
was  to  the  same  point.  *  In  after  years,'  says 
his  son,  (Charles  King,  Esq.,)  'adverting  to  the 
influence  which  the  Bishop  exercised  in  various 
deliberative  bodies  when  they  met,  he  used  to 
speak  with  high  admiration  of  his  powers  and 
promptness  as  a  debater.  He  often  used  to  say, 
that  if  the  Bishop  had  been  a  politician  instead 
of  a  clergyman,  he  could  not  have  failed  of  obtain- 

M2 


126  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

ing  and  preserving  a  great  ascendancy  in  public 
assemblies,  by  those  qualities  of  his  mind  which 
enabled  him  to  perceive  v^ith  intuition  the  weak 
points  of  an  adversary's  argument,  and  urge 
with  convincing  earnestness  the  strong  points 
of  his  own.  When  to  this  was  added  that  sin- 
cerity of  purpose  which  w^as  so  obvious  in  all 
that  he  said,  it  may  readily  be  believed  that  it 
was  difficult  to  withstand  him.'  * 

It  was  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  that  Mr.  Ho- 
bart's  talents  for  debate,  nurtured,  as  already 
stated,  in  the  youthful  arena,  were  first  called 
forth  into  real  action.  At  this  period  Bishop 
Moore  was  President  of  the  college,  and  so 
continued  until  his  attack  of  paralysis,  in  1811. 
The  subjects  of  debate  that  came  up  during 
this  period  were  generally  of  minor  interest, 
relating  chiefly  to  points  of  discipline,  or  the 
supply  of  casual  vacancies.  The  latter  topic, 
however,  always  involved  a  question  of  principle, 
which  brought  into  direct  collision  the  leaders 
of  the  opposing  parties,  and  made  the  election  a 
point  frequently  of  sharp  contest. 

On  these  occasions,  Mr.  Hobart  early  and 
decidedly  took  his  stand,  and  although  occa- 
sionally baffled  by  some  overwhelming  effort  of 
his    adversary,    yet    eventually   succeeded    in 

♦  Berriarij  p,  383,  note. 


BISHOP     II  0  B  A  R  T.  127 

making  it  good.  His  principle  was  this — It  is 
highly  expedient  that,  in  such  a  body  as  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  all  internal  questions  of 
contest  should  be  carefully  cut  off,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  free  to  attend  to  their  rightful 
duties,  as  the  literary  guardians  of  a  seminary 
of  education.  Now  that  end  can  be  attained 
only  by  giving  to  some  one  denomination  or 
other,  within  the  Board,  such  an  undoubted 
numerical  majority  as  may  preclude  all  such 
party  contests.  To  which  denommation,  then, 
is  that  control  to  be  given  ?  to  which  does  it  of 
right  belong,  but  to  the  one  from  whom  the 
endowment  of  the  college  comes,  and  comes 
upon  conditions,  and  who  have,  therefore,  a 
moral  right  to  a  preponderance  in  the  body  by 
whom  that  endowment  is  administered,  and 
upon  whom  those  conditions  are  obligatory. 
Whether  it  be  regarded,  therefore,  as  a  question 
of  expediency,  or  of  right,  the  case,  he  argued, 
was  clear — Episcopalians  should  hold  the  de- 
cided majority. 

Whatever  might  then  be  thought  of  this 
reasoning,  experience  certainly  prove  1  its  sound- 
ness. For,  until  it  was  adopted,  the  Board 
went  on  disputing  instead  of  acting,  until  in 
the  contest  for  power,  the  very  object  for  which 
they  fought  was  forgotten  and  almost  lost. 
The  college  sank  in  reputation  as  well  as  in 


128  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

numbers,  until,  at  length,  its  very  warmest 
friends  almost  despaired  of  its  resuscitation. 
Some  laid  the  blame  on  the  faculty,  some  on 
the  trustees,  some  on  want  of  patronage,  others 
again,  on  its  internal  discipline,  in  having  but  a 
nominal  and  official  president.  All  parties, 
however,  agreed  that  something  must  be  done, 
or  the  college  would  be  for  ever  ruined.  This, 
however,  is  in  anticipation,  since  the  contest 
which  arose  out  of  this  condition  of  things  did 
not  take  place  until  the  year  1811. 

But,  in  the  mean  time,  subjects  of  minor  con- 
troversy were  not  wanting,  and  in  these  skir- 
mishes, preparatory  as  it  were  to  a  general  en- 
gagement, the  Episcopal  interest  rallied  gene- 
rally around  their  youthful  leader  ;  while  its 
opponents  were  marshalled  under  the  guidance 
of  one  who  seemed  as  a  Goliath  to  him,  *  a 
man  of  war  from  his  youth.'  Thus  were  first 
brought  into  contact  and  collision  two  of  the 
most  powerful  minds  which  the  ranks  of  the 
ministry  have,  in  our  day  and  country,  pro- 
,duced.  Men  the  very  antipodes  of  each  other 
in  most  points  of  character,  and  agreeing,  per- 
haps, in  nothing  beyond  the  possession  of  great, 
or  rather,  pre-eminent  talents,  and  the  devotion 
of  them  to  the  worthiest  of  all  causes. 


B  I  S  H  O  P    H  O  B  A  R  T.  129 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Object  of  Mr.  Hobart  in  his  Publications — Attacked  by  Rev.  Dr.  Linn 
— '  Miscellanies ' — Answered  by  Mr.  Hobart  and  others — '  Collection 
of  Essays,' &c. — Reviewed  in  the  'Christian  Magazine' — 'Apology 
for  Apostolic  Order  and  its  Advocates' — Justification  of  Manner — 
Character  of  Dr.  Mason — Examination  of  the  Argument — Result  of 
it  upon  the  Church — Letters. 

That  offences  must  needs  come  is  one  of  the 
'trials'  of  the  Christian,  hut  the  'wo'  is  upon 
him  '  by  whom  they  come.'  This  leads  to  the 
inquiry,  In  what  spirit  and  with  what  motive 
did.  Mr.  Hobart  publish  those  opinions  which  all 
admit  it  was  his  duty  to  maintain  1 

On  this  point  his  exculpation  is  complete.  He 
addressed  himself  to  the  members  of  his  own 
communion  ;  he  wrote  as  a  teacher  to  his  own 
people,  instructing  them  —  which,  as  already 
seen,  they  stood  greatly  m  need  of — in  the 
doctrines  and  discipline  of  their  own  Church  ; 
and  in  thus  doing  was  answerable  certainly  to 
none  without. 

Nor  w^ere  the  positions  laid  down  by  him 
either  novel  or  strange,  that  other  Christian 
denominations  should  feel  as  if  they  had  a  right 
to  take  offence  at  their  promulgation  :  they  were 
doctrines  as  old  as  the  earliest  as^e  of  Christian- 
ity,  and  deduced  from  what  all  acknowledged. 


130  M  E  M  O  I  R    O  F 

the  union  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  with  the 
Church  of  Christ.  That  he  taught  these  doc- 
trines plainly  was  because  he  believed  them 
truly  :  that  he  urged  them  warmly  was  because 
his  heart  was  in  the  argument ;  that  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  task  was  because  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  instruct  those  whom  God  had  committed 
to  his  care  :  *  but  the  real  offence  was,  that  he 
taught  them  eloquently  and  efficiently,  and  thus 
aroused  the  jealousy  of  those  against  whose 
interests  they  seemed  to  militate. 

While  thus  engaged,  he  was  publicly  de- 
nounced by  name  for  maintaining  such  opinions, 
and  challenged  to  defend  them  :  that  under 
such  defiance  he  hesitated  not  to  enter  the  lists, 
surely  needs  no  apology ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
due  both  to  himself  and  the  Church  :  that  he 
quitted  not  the  field  while  an  opponent  remained, 
was  equally  a  matter  of  common  right,  in  him 
also  of  peculiar  character,  for  he  was  by  nature 
ardent,  fearless,  and  persevering,  ready  in  a  good 
cause  to  go  *  even  to  the  death.'  The  particu- 
lars of  this  controversy  were  shortly  these  : 

*  Among  the  questions  asked  and  answered  at  ordination  to 
the  priesthood,  and  consequently  acquiring  the  solemnity  of  an 
oath,  or  vow,  was  the  following ;  '  Will  you  be  ready,  with  all 
faithful  diligence,  to  banish  and  drive  away  from  the  Church  all 
erroneous  and  strange  doctrines,  contrary  to  God's  Word  1 '  To 
which  he  had  publicly  answered,  '  I  will ;  the  Lord  being  my 
helper.'— (Ordering  of  Priests.) 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  131 

In  the  summer  of  1805,  shortly  after  the 
pubhcation  of  his  *  Companion  for  the  Festivals 
and  Fasts,'  there  appeared  in  the  '  Albany  Sen- 
tinel,' a  paper  of  wide  circulation  published  at 
the  seat  of  government  in  the  Diocese,  an  attack 
upon  tlie  principles  laid  down  by  him  in  that 
work,  and  that  not  casually  done,  but  systema- 
tically maintained  and  carried  on,  though  under 
the  harmless  title  of  '  Miscellanies '  for  several 
successive  months,  the  production,  it  was  under- 
stood, of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Linn,  one  of  the  ablest 
ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  communion  in  our 
countr}^ 

Under  these  circumstances  what  was  Mr.  Ho- 
bart's  course  of  duty  ?  Had  it  been  like  his  a 
work  didactic  in  its  character,  and  addressed  to 
the  members  of  a  particular  society,  Mr.  Hobart 
would  doubtless  have  accorded  to  others  the 
privilege  he  exercised  himself,  of  instructing 
those  whom  they  were  called  to  instruct,  and 
passed  it  by  without  notice.  But  such  was  not 
its  character  :  it  was  controversial  alike  in  form 
and  spirit,  while  the  medium  chosen  addressed 
the  argument  to  the  reading  public  at  large, 
showing  conclusively  that  the  object  of  the 
writer  was  not  an  official  but  a  popular  one  ;  a 
willingness,  in  short,  to  awaken  again  those 
political  as  well  as  religious  prejudices  by  which 
the  Episcopal  Church  had  been  at  one  period — 


133  M  R  ]\T  0  I  R     OF 

and  that  not  far  removed — trampled,  as  it  were, 
in  the  very  dust. 

But  one  course,  therefore,  remained  to  Mr. 
Hobart,  and  that  was  to  plead  the  cause  before 
that  tribunal  of  public  opinion,  before  which  not 
himself  but  his  adversary  had  brought  it.  He 
addressed  himself,  therefore,  to  the  columns  of 
the  same  paper,  claiming-  a  right  to  be  heard. 
The  defence  was  managed  by  himself,  aided  by 
two  college  friends,  whose  names  are  already 
familiar  to  the  reader.  Rev.  Frederick  Beasley, 
and  Thomas  Y.  How.  His  own  papers  are  dis- 
tinguished throughout  by  the  signatures  'De- 
tector' and  'Vindex.' 

Upon  the  termination  of  the  contest,  which  he 
considered  to  be  a  triumph  for  tbe  Church,  in 
order  to  foreclose  future  controvers)^,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  put  forth,  in  a  permanent  form,  both 
the  attack  and  the  defence  at  large.  Both  were 
included  in  a  volume,  published  under  his  own 
name,  in  February,  1806,  bearing  the  title  of  *  A 
Collection  of  Essays  on  the  Subject  of  Episco- 
pacy,' in  which,  as  stated  in  the  Preface,  '  the 
arguments  for  and  against  Episcopacy  are  pre- 
sented to  the  reader.' 

But  he  had  yet  to  meet  a  more  powerful  an- 
tagonist. About  this  time,  and  dictated  proba- 
bly by  the  above  discussion,  notice  was  given, 
throughout  the  country,  of  a  forthcoming  reli- 


B  I  S  HOP     HOB  AR  T.  133 

gious  periodical  in  the  city  of  New-York,  sup- 
ported by  the  Presbyterian  communion,  to  be 
entitled  *  The  Christian's  Magazine,'  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  whose  name 
and  reputation  are  already  before  the  reader. 
The  learning  and  talents  of  this  gentleman,  who 
was  to  be  both  its  proprietor  and  editor,  gave  to 
the  work  a  high  reputation,  even  before  its  ap- 
pearance. The  publication  of  the  first  number 
was,  therefore,  looked  forward  to  with  anxious 
expectation  by  both  friends  and  foes,  it  being 
understood  that  it  would  contain  from  the  pen 
of  the  editor  a  complete  settlement  of  the  whole 
question  of  Episcopacy,  in  the  form  of  a  review 
of  Mr.  Hobart's  work,  and  a  '  quietus,'  as  was 
said,  to  the  '  aspiring  ambition  of  that  young 
Churchman.' 

In  accordance  with  this  language,  the  ex- 
pected review  came  forth,  and  had  there  been 
any  doubt  of  its  author,  the  talent  it  evinced,  as 
well  as  its  keen  and  contemptuous  satire,  would 
have  sufficiently  indicated  the  source.  It  was 
not  only  a  condemnatory  review,  but  a  bitter 
attack,  holding  up  to  public  odium  both  Mr. 
Hobart  and  his  opinions.  '  They  are  positions,' 
says  Dr.  Mason,  in  language  of  which  we  may 
be  allowed  to  doubt  the  classical  taste  as  well 
as  the  Christian  cliarity,  *of  such  deep-toned 
horror,  as  may  well  make  one's  hair  stand  up 

N 


134  MEMOIROF 

like  quills  upon  the  fretful  porcupine,  and  freeze 
the  warm  blood  at  the  fountain.'  * 

This  attack  brought  Mr.  Hobart  necessarily 
and  at  once  into  collision  with  the  greatest  of 
his  opponents,  one  whose  long-established  fame 
might  well  have  daunted  so  young  a  disputant. 
Nor  was  that  reputation  an  ordinary  one.  Dr. 
Mason  was  at  this  time  'towering in  his  strength,' 
and  joining,  as  he  did,  a  Warburtonian  coarse- 
ness of  manner  to  unquestioned  learning  and 
overbearing  talent,  was  certainly  a  champion 
whom  it  required  some  courage  to  meet.  But 
in  the  cause  for  which  he  fought,  Mr.  Hobart 
was  not  to  be  overawed  ;  he  had  put  his  hand 
to  the  plough  and  would  not  turn  back  :  and 
although  it  reminded  lookers-on  of  the  valor  of 
the  youthful  David,  and  as  savoring  more  of 
heroism  than  of  prudence,  he  yet  hesitated  not 
to  advance  ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1807  published 
his  '  Apology  for  Apostolic  Order  and  its  Advo- 
cates,' in  a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  Rev. 
John  M.  Mason,  D.  D.' 

It  was  in  the  close  of  this  work  that  he  re- 
corded those  memorable  words,  which  have 
since  been  so  widely  adopted,  and  so  ably  de- 
fended, —  '  My  banner  is  Evangelical  Truth 
AND  Apostolic  Order.'     But  the  whole  pass- 

♦  Page  96. 


BI  S  HO  P     HO  B  ART.  135 

age  deserves  extracting.  '  My  banner  is  Evan- 
GELicAL  Truth  and  Apostolic  Order.  Firm 
and  undaunted,  I  must  summon  to  my  sacred 
cause  whatever  powers  nature  (alas  !  too  little 
cultivated  by  the  laborious  hand  of  study)  has 
bestowed  upon  me  ;  whatever  ardor,  whatever 
zeal,  nature  has  kindled  in  my  bosom.  But  it 
were  vain  to  rest  here.  I  must  arm  myself  by 
imploring  the  grace  of  Him  whose  glory  it  is  to 
make  often  the  humblest  instrument  the  victo- 
rious champion  of  truth.' 

The  liigh-toned  energy  of  this  work  is  said  to 
have  drawn  forth  even  from  his  great  opponent 
himself  this  noble  tribute  of  respect,  *  Were  I 
compelled  to  intrust  the  safety  of  my  country  to 
any  one  man,  that  man  should  be  John  Henry 
Hobart.' 

The  republication  of  this  work  abroad,  and  the 
praises  bestowed  upon  it  at  home,  may  be  war- 
rant for  the  ability  manifested  in  the  argument ; 
but  as  discourtesy  in  the  manner  of  conduct- 
ing it  was  by  his  opponents  made  a  serious 
charge,  it  may  be  well,  for  a  moment,  to  con- 
sider its  truth  or  its  apology.  In  disproof  of  it, 
we  may  quote  the  opinion  of  an  English  critic 
in  his  review  of  the  work.*  '  Whoever,'  says 
he,  *  Mr.  Hobart  is,  he  writes  like  a  gentleman, 

*  Rev.  C.  Crane. 


136  MEMOIROF 

a  scholar,  and  a  Christian.'  Or  should  any 
reader  still  think  that  he  finds  some  truth  in  this 
indictment,  then  in  apology  let  it  be  said,  (for 
justification  such  charge  admits  not)  that  he  was 
vriting  to  one  who  prided  himself  upon  overawing 
his  adversary  ;  one  who  rejoiced  more,  it  would 
seem,  in  vanquishing  an  opponent  by  the  power 
of  bitter  sarcasm,  than  by  calm,  conclusive  rea- 
soning ;  and  to  this  general  charge  his  present 
attack  certainly  afforded  no  exception.  Such,  at 
least,  did  Dr.  Mason  appear  to  one,  who,  although 
he  knew  him  late,  had  yet  some  opportunities 
of  knowing  him  well ;  and  who  would  not  now 
willingly  depreciate  talents  he  once  admired, 
and  always  admitted. 

In  explanation  of  this  dubious  praise,  the 
author  would  go  on  to  observe,  that  it  will  be 
allowed,  he  thinks,  by  all  who  knew  Dr.  Mason, 
that  his  powers,  however  great,  were  roused  into 
action  more  by  impidse  than  by  calm  resolve  ; 
and  that  his  mind  had  in  it  too  much  of  that 
intellectual  pride  which  scorns  labor,  and  over- 
prizes victory,  to  meet  with  unqualified  admira- 
tion. It  was  a  mind  doubtless  better  fitted  by 
nature  (whatever  it  may  have  been  by  grace) 
for  a  political  leader  than  an  evangelical  teacher, 
for  a  worldly  rather  than  a  self-denying  profes- 
sion ;  a  fact  which  he  himself  seems  not  un- 
frequently  to    have  recognised,   and   in    bitter 


BISHOP     HOBART.  137 

moments  of  disappointment  to  have  sometimes 
openly  expressed. 

But  however  estimated,  either  in  his  powers 
or  failings,  though  the  grave  has  long  since 
closed  over  him,  time  is  not  likely  soon  to  obli- 
terate the  remembrance,  at  least  within  the  pale 
of  that  communion  to  which  he  belonged,  for  he 
left  behind  him  in  it  neither  equal  nor  second. 
But  unfortunately  for  it,  from  the  nature  of  its 
ecclesiastical  polity,  he  failed  to  imprint  upon  it 
any  permanent  and  abiding  character.  In  this 
as  well  as  in  the  argument  which  grew  out  of  it, 
Bishop  Hobart  has  had,  we  think,  the  advantage. 
The  polity  of  the  Church  bears  still  his  impress, 
'  being  dead  he  yet  speaketh.' 

But  to  return  to  the  subject-matter  of  the 
dispute. 

As  the  language  of  Dr.  Mason  has  been 
quoted,  terming  the  opinions  held  by  Mr.  Hobart 
'  doctrines  of  deep-toned  horror,'  it  is  due  to  the 
memory  of  both  to  explain  what  those  doctrines 
were  which  could  provoke  such  a  charge  from 
one,  who,  although  an  adversary,  was  yet  a 
scholar  and  a  Christian.  The  explanation  will, 
we  think,  show  not  only  that  such  opprobrium 
was  altogether  unmerited,  but  that,  further,  from 
none  could  it  come  with  such  ill  grace  as  from 
him  who  applied  it. 

The  charge  was,  that  Mr.  Hobart's  opinions 

N2 


138  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

went  to  'unchurch'  all  Christian  denominations 
whose  ministers  were  not  episcopally  ordained  ; 
or,  in  the  coarse  language  of  his  opponent, 
'  Episcopacy  or  perdition.'  To  this  we  have  two 
answers  :  the  first  is  to  him  who  makes  it.  The 
answer,  *  ad  hominem,'  is,  that  the  Presbyterian 
theologian  unchurches  all  that  are  not  presby- 
terially  ordained  ;  and  that  the  line  thus  drawn 
excludes  ten  times  more  professing  members 
from  the  pale  of  the  true  Christian  Church  than 
the  position  they  condemn  would  do.  Thus,  the 
Greek  Church  alone  exceeds  in  numbers  all 
Protestant  Christendom,  and  in  it  presbyters 
neither  do  nor  ever  have  taken  any  part  in  ordi- 
nation :  they  consequently  are  all  unchurched ; 
but  more  than  this,  the  Presb3^terian  doctrine 
unchurches  in  truth  all  Christendom,  and  by  a 
singular  '  felo  de  se,'  themselves  among  the 
number, — for  until  the  fourth  *  Council  of  Car- 
thage, il  D.  398,  ordinations  in  the  Latin 
Church,  through  which  channel  they  them- 
selves, by  acknowledgment,  derive  their  own 
commission,  were  held  by  the  bishop  alone, 
without  the  intervention  or  assistance  of  presby- 
ters. If,  then,  their  position  be  true,  that  pres- 
byterial  ordination  alone  is  valid,  where,  we  may 


*  Reckoning  as  one  the  three  councils  of  a.  d.  252,  253, 
and  255. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  0  B  ART.  139 

ask,  is  the  Christian  Church  now  1  And  which 
is  the  doctrine  that  *  unchurches'  most  professing 
Christians,  theirs  or  Mr.  Hobart's  ] 

But  this  is  an  answer  only  to  him  who  would 
vilify  the  Church  by  making  such  a  charge. 
To  the  candid  inquirer  after  truth  another 
answer  is  to  be  given.  The  nature  and  con- 
stitution of  the  Christian  Church  is  a  cjuestion, 
the  solution  of  which  is  to  be  gathered  solely 
from  Scripture  language  and  primitive  usage, 
and,  therefore,  not  to  be  tested  by  the  conve- 
nience or  inconvenience  of  its  application.  That 
is  to  say  ;  it  is  a  question  of  truth,  not  of 
expediency  ;  and  he  is  an  unscriptural  reasoner 
who  puts  it  on  any  other  ground.  Such  was 
Mr.  Hobart's  argument. 

Whether  he  reasoned  directly  from  Scripture, 
or  indirectly,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  he 
found  himself  brought  equally  to  the  same  con- 
clusion ;  namely,  that  the  Christian  Church  is 
a  body  divinely  constituted,  holding,  therefore, 
its  power  and  privileges,  by  regular  derivation, 
from  those  to  whom  Christ  and  his  Apostles 
gave  them. 

For  if,  as  he  argued,  every  professing  Chris- 
tian be  not  a  lawful  minister,  and  competent  to 
administer  the  Christian  ordinances,  then  the 
question  is,  what  makes  any  one  such  ?  Title 
he  evidently  must  have — the  question  is,  from 


140  MEMOIR     OF 

whom  derived  ]     If  such  title   be  only  inward, 
then   all   may  claim  it,   but,   if  outward,   who 
gives  it  to  him  1     If  you  say,  those  who  have 
authority  in  the  Church  to  which  he  belongs, 
the  question  still  recurs,  by  what  test  are  they 
known  ?    and   whence    did    they    derive    this 
authority?  and  so  on;    so  that,  in  tracing  up 
the  Christian  ministry,  you  must  either  come 
to  a  stop  when  it  was  self-taken,  and,  therefore, 
of  man's  will,  or  you  ascend  to  the  Apostles' 
times,  and  it  there  terminates  in  the  power  and 
appointment    of    Christ.      If    the    former    be 
chosen,  then  the  Christian  ministry  is  of  human 
origin,  and  may  as  rightfully  originate  now  as  it 
did  at  any  former  time ;  and,  from  one  man  or 
body  of  men  as  well  as  from  another  ;  so  that,  in 
the  Church  of  Christ  there  can  be  no  unity,  for 
there  is  no  bond ;  and  no  schism,  for  there  is  no 
obligation  ;    and    no    Church,    for   every   man 
may  set  up  his  own  altar ;  and  no  ministry,  for 
every  man  may  serve  as  his  own  priest.     But 
if  this  be  absurd,  and  against  reason,  and  against 
Scripture,  and  not  contended  for  by  our  oppo- 
nents, we  are   then  necessarily  thrown  on  the 
only  remaining  alternative,  viz.  that  we  ascend 
to  the  Apostles'  times,  which  is  the  position 
maintained  by  Mr.  Hobart. 

Or,  take  the  question,  again,  as  one  directly 
drawn  from  Scripture — Christ  and  his  Apostles 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  0  B  AR  T.  141 

founded  a  visible  Church  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
ministry  he  established,  some  were  called,  and 
from  it,  consequently,  all  others  were  excluded. 
Now,  what  would  be  thought  of  the  position, 
that  any  follower  of  our  Lord,  then,  had  a  right 
to  rank  himself  with  the  twelve  Apostles  ;  or 
that,  again,  those  who  were  *  not  set  apart  and 
sent,'  by  those  Apostles,  possessed  equal  rights  in 
the  Church  with  those  who  were.  If  it  be  ab- 
surd, for  instance,  to  say,  that  Gains,  or  Apollos, 
had  as  good  a  right  to  govern  the  Church  of 
Ephesus  as  Timothy,  who  was  made  bishop 
over  it  ;  or,  to  '  lay  hands  '  on  others,  admitting 
them  into  the  ministry,  when  they  were  not 
'  commissioned '  so  to  do  ;  if  this  be  unsound 
theology,  then  the  question  again  recurs,  when 
and  where  may  that  chain  of  the  governing  and 
appointing  power  be  broken  1  can  it  ever  be 
wilfully  broken,  without  the  sin  of  schism'?  can 
it  ever  be  even  unwillingly  broken,  and  yet,  all 
things  continue  as  before  1 

Now  this  is  the  argument  maintained  by  Mr. 
Hobart,  and  it  is  one,  certainly,  not  easy  to 
invalidate.  It  is  one  which  Chillingworth  did 
not  hesitate  to  pronounce  *  a  demonstration,"^ 
and  Chillingworth  was   such  a  reasoner  that 

*  '  The  Apostolic  Institution  of  Episcopacy  Demonstrated.' 
Chillingworth's  Works. 


142  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

Locke's  advice  to  his  friend  Molineux  was,  '  If 
you  wish  your  son  to  understand  logic  let  him 
read  Chillingworth.'  But  passing  even  this  by  ; 
it  is  in  its  nature  but  a  chain  of  reasoning,  and 
has  nothing  to  do  with  Christian  charity  ;  that 
stands  on  its  own  ground,  and  is  a  question  of 
the  heart,  not  of  the  head.  To  those  beyond 
the  pale  of  his  own  Church,  except  in  defence, 
Mr.  Hobart  neither  addressed  this  argument, 
nor  applied  it :  it  was  sufficient  for  him  to 
satisfy  the  members  of  his  own  communion  that 
they  belonged  to  the  one  catholic  and  apostolic 
Church  of  Christ,  and  to  awaken  in  their 
hearts  corresponding  gratitude  for  the  blessings 
it  conferred.  To  others  he  left  an  equal  privi- 
lege, that  of  searching  for  themselves,  and 
satisfying  themselves  ;  neither  questioning,  in 
the  mean  time,  their  baptismal  rights  under  the 
Gospel  covenant,  nor  depreciating  their  Chris- 
tian character. 

How  he  arrived  at  these  opinions  we  may 
learn  from  himself. 

'  As  to  my  opinions,'  says  he,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Mason, 
'  on  the  subject  of  Episcopacy,  they  cannot  be  ranked 
among  the  prejudices  of  education.  I  bless  God  that  I 
was  baptized  in  infancy  in  the  Episcopal  Church ;  that 
part  of  my  life,  however,  during  which  my  religious 
principles  became  a  subject  of  anxious  investigation, 
was  passed   at  a  Presbyterian  college.     Respect  and 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  143 

veneration  for  my  instructers  and  guides  in  the  path  of 
science ;  esteem  and  affection  for  many  valued  friends, 
to  whom  I  knew  certain  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
Episcopacy  would  be  obnoxious,  excited  in  my  bosom  a 
painful  struggle  between  the  most  amiable  impulses  of 
feeling  and  the  strong  demands  of  duty.  But  when, 
after  as  honest  and  faithful  an  examination  as  I  was 
able  to  make,  I  became  fully  satisfied  that  it  was  evi- 
dent, from  Scripture  and  ancient  authors,  that  there 
have  been,  from  the  Apostles'  times,  three  orders  of 
ministers,  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  in  Christ's 
Church ;  and  that  the  Episcopal  Church  considers  no 
man  as  "  a  lawful  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  who  Jiath 
not  had  Episcopal  consecration  or  ordination,"  *  it  surely 
became  my  duty  to  maintain  and  inculcate  what  the 
Church  had  thus  solemnly  declared.'  f 

It  was  a  narrow  and  false  view  which  con- 
strued the  maintenance  of  these  opinions  into 
an  attack  upon  the  Christian  rights  of  others — 
our  Church  knows  no  such  bigotry.  To  use 
the  language  of  one  of  its  able  living  defenders,  :|: 
'  An  attachment  to  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  allowance  for  human  infirmity 
on  the  other,  appear  to  be  the  characteristics  of 
our  Church.  She  guards  her  purity  in  doctrine 
by  admitting  none  to  her  ministry  who  do  not 
pledge  themselves  to  the  Gospel  and  the  Church, 
as   set  forth  in  her   standards  ;    while  on   the 

♦  Preface  to  Ordination  Services, 
t  '  Apology,'  &c.,  Letter  v.  p.  31. 
t  Editor  of  the  '  Churchman.' 


144  !^I  E  M  O  I  R     O  jf 

other  hand,  she  avoids  dissension  by  yielding"  a 
wise  toleration  to  private  belief  among  her 
members,  and  not  seeking,  as  do  some  Churches, 
to  impose  the  whole  body  of  faith  on  every 
individual  as  an  essential  prerequisite  to  com- 
munion.' 

But  the  subject  of  controversy  was  not  im- 
mediately dropped  :  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller,*  of 
Princeton,  resumed,  with  still  less  happier  aus^ 
pices,  the  argument  of  Dr,  Mason,  and  was 
replied  to  f  with  equal  temper  and  ability  by 
Thomas  Y.  How,  and  again,  with  deeper  learn- 
ing, by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bowden,:}:  Professor,  at  the 
time,  of  Moral  Philosophy,  in  Columbia  College. 
To  this  last  named  gentleman,  though  much  his 
senior,  Mr.  Hobart  was  greatly  attached.  Dr. 
Bowden,  too,  was  a  man  whose  friendship  was 
not  lightly  given  :  his  life  had  been  one  of  duty 
and  many  sacrifices  for  conscience'  sake  ;  he  was 
one  of  the  few  remaining  clergy  of  the  olden 
time,  had  mourned  with  the  Church  in  its  fallen 
state,  and  was  now  cheered  with  the  brighter 
prospects  that  began  to  open  upon  it.  With  a 
learned  and  eloquent  pen,  he  united  his  forces 
to  those  of  its  younger  and  more  active  advo- 
cate, and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in 

*  '  Letters  on  Christian  Ministry.' 

t  '  Letters,'  &c. 

t  '  Apostolic  Origin  of  Episcopacy  asserted.' 


BISHOP     HOBART.  145 

that  honor  and  respect  which  wait  upon  learn- 
ing, piety,  and  native  goodness,  when  united  in 
the  vale  of  years. 

The  name  of  a  third  advocate  closes  the 
notice  of  this  controversy.  Dr.  Miller  was  again 
answered  by  one  who  had  already  wrought  out 
the  argument  to  his  own  satisfaction,  the  late 
Bishop  Kemp,  of  Maryland,  who,  educated  for 
the  Presbyterian  ministry,  in  the  University  of 
Aberdeen,  had^  from  long  study  and  deep  con- 
viction, at  length  united  himself  to  the  Church. 

The  growing  reputation  of  Mr.  Hobart  was 
about  this  time  acknowledged  in  his  own  coun- 
try by  the  title  of  D.  D.,  conferred  upon  him  by 
Union  College,  N.  Y.,  a  compliment  peculiarly 
acceptable,  as  coming  from  no  partial  judges. 
The  following  letter  accompanied  the  transmis- 
sion of  his  'Apology'  to  his  correspondent, 
Archdeacon  Daubeny,  of  Bath  (England.) 

TO  ARCHDEACON  DAUBENY. 

*  New  -  York,  December  11,  1807. 
Rev.  Sir, 

About  two  years  ago  I  took  the  liberty  to  transmit 
to  you  two  productions  of  mine,  to  which  I  was  embold- 
ened to  solicit  your  attention;  as  they  afforded  an 
evidence  that  I  was  anxious,  according  to  my  humble 
talents,  to  diffuse,  in  my  own  country,  those  principles 
of  primitive  truth  and  apostolic  order,  for  the  extension 
of  which  in  Britain,  you  have  so  honorably  and  success- 
fully labored.  Will  you  pardon  the  further  liberty  which 
o 


146  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

I  take  of  troubling  you  with  some  copies  of  a  work  in 
defence  of  my  former  productions  against  the  attacks 
of  a  bitter  opponent  of  Episcopacy  in  this  city  ?  One 
copy  you  will  do  me  the  favor  to  keep  for  yourself,  and 
the  others,  should  you  think  them  worthy  of  so  much 
attention,  to  bestow  on  such  of  your  friends  as  you  may 
think  proper.  The  principal  motive,  which  leads  me 
to  trouble  you  with  the  books  which  accompany  this 
letter,  is  to  satisfy  one  so  much  interested  as  you  must 
be  in  the  welfare  of  the  apostolic  Church  throughout 
the  world,  that  that  branch  of  it  which  subsists  in  this 
country,  does  not  want  sons  determined  to  defend  her 
to  the  best  of  their  abilities.  Should  you  honor  my 
book  with  a  perusal,  you  will  find  that  the  liberal  use, 
which,  in  my  former  productions,  I  made  of  your  writ- 
ings, induced  an  attack  upon  you,  which  I  have  endeavored 
to  repel.  To  you,  indeed,  the  cause  of  apostolic  order 
is  greatly  indebted,  and  you  merit  the  veneration  and 
gratitude  of  all  its  friends.  That  Providence  may  pre- 
serve you  for  long  and  increasing  usefulness  in  the 
Church  of  which  you  are  so  distinguished  an  ornament, 
permit  me  to  say,  Rev.  Sir,  is  the  sincere  prayer  of 
Your  very  respectful  and  obedient  servant, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

To  this  he  soon  after  received  a  reply,   of 
which  the  following  is  an  extract  : 

FROM  ARCHDEACOxV  DAUBENY. 

'  Bath,  March  3,  1808. 
Rev.  Sir, 

I  have  received,  and  read  with  great  satisfaction 
and  interest,  the  contents  of  the  two  packets  you  have 
done  me  the  honor  to  transmit  to  me  from  New-York, 
for  the  favor  of  which  you  would  certainly  have  received 


BISHOP      HOBART.  147 

a  much  earlier  acknowledgment,  had  my  bookseller  in 
London  properly  discharged  the  commission  with  which 
he  was  intrusted  by  me  two  years  since. 

Believe  me,  Sir,  I  have  read  with  particular  satisfac- 
tion, and  not  without  profit,  your  Apology  for  Apostolic 
Order,  and  am  only  sorry  to  think  that  the  prevailing 
dissensions  among  those  who  ought  to  be  joined  together 
in  the  same  mind,  and  in  the  same  judgment,  render 
such  an  Apology  necessary.  At  the  same  time,  I  have 
pleasure  in  saying  that  the  cause  you  have  undertaken 
has  not  suffered  in  your  hands :  indeed,  I  consider  my- 
self indebted  to  you  for  a  still  more  confirmed  judgment 
(if  that  were  possible)  on  the  subject  of  apostolic  order, 
than  I  actually  possessed  before  the  reading  of  your 
pages.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  to  be  deeply  lamented 
that  a  subject,  upon  which  good  men  have  differed,  and 
will  continue  to  differ  in  opinion,  till  such  time  as  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church  shall  have  subdued  all  her 
enemies,  cannot  be  entered  upon  with  a  view  to  the  just 
appreciation  of  its  merits  without  such  a  mixture  of 
uncharitable  censure  as  cannot  fail  to  disgrace  the  party 
who  has  recourse  to  it.  On  this  head,  however,  it  is  a 
satisfaction  to  think  that  the  advocates  for  Episcopacy 
have  little  to  answer  for.  God  grant  that  they  may 
ever  bear  in  mind  of  what  spirit  they  ought  to  be. 

The  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson  is  a  most  interesting  publi- 
cation. In  the  late  Mr.  Boucher  the  Church  lost  a 
dutiful  and  affectionate  son,  and  I  a  most  esteemed 
friend.  I  lament,  on  both  our  accounts,  that  he  was  so 
soon  removed  from  among  us. 

Believe  me.  Rev.  Sir,  with  best  wishes  for  the  future 
success  of  your  valuable  labors  in  the  cause  of  the  Church, 
With  much  regard. 
Your  sincere  and  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

Charles  Daubeny.' 


148  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

These  letters  conclude  the  notice  of  what 
may  be  peculiarly  termed  the  period  '  militant ' 
of  Mr.  Hobart's  life,  in  which  he  stood  forth, 
and  at  first  almost  solitary,  a  champion,  as  he  may 
well  be  termed,  for  it  required  at  that  time  no 
small  courage  to  avow  them,  of  the  distinctive 
principles  of  the  Church.  At  the  time,  opinions 
as  to  his  course,  even  among  Churchmen,  were 
greatly  divided  ;  now,  all  unite  as  to  the  debt 
of  gratitude  due  to  him.  However  painful  the 
contest,  few,  who  examine  into  the  subject,  will 
deny  its  necessity;  none  can  doubt  the  result. 
Since  that  period,  outward  respect  and  internal 
prosperity  have  marked  the  course  of  the 
Church  he  defended.  The  imfounded  but 
popular  prejudices  by  which  it  was  before  borne 
down  have  given  way.  It  is  no  longer  taunted 
with  foreign  attachment  or  hostility  to  civil 
liberty,  for  Dr.  Hobart's  pen  not  only  cleared 
up,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  public  mind, 
the  distinction  between  its  temporal  and  spiritual 
government,  but  he  was  the  foremost,  also,  to  re- 
ject all  such  unholy  union,  and  to  exhibit  the  con- 
nection of  Church  and  State,  as  events  abroad 
are  now  showing  it  to  be,  a  source  of  weakness 
to  the  Church,  and  not  of  strength.  The 
Church,  too,  no  longer  stands  charged  with 
a  cold  and  formal  service,  for,  as  a  Churchman, 
Dr.  Hobart  was- as  evangelical  as  he  was  apos- 


BISHOPHOBART.  149 

tolical,  and  exhibited  the  prayers  of  the  Church, 
both  in  his  writings,  and  his  use  of  them,  as 
combining  all  the  requisites  of  a  deep  and  heart- 
felt devotion. 

Nor  is  it  any  longer  liable  to  the  reproach  of 
having  a  laity  uninterested  in  its  concerns,  or 
uninstriicted  in  its  doctrines,  or  backward  in 
any  measures  of  Christian  usefulness  requiring 
personal  sacrifice  or  liberal  contribution.  Such 
a  charge  would  now  be  a  calumny  ;  but  it  was 
not  so  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Hobart  first  came 
forward.  The  natural  result  of  belonging  to  a 
Church  that  required  not  such  exertions  for  its 
support,  had  made  the  majority  of  Episcopalians 
to  be,  rather  '  hangers  on,'  than  '  true  members  ' 
of  their  Church  ;  and  in  all  matters  of  doctrinal 
controversy  to  feel  much  more  like  bystanders 
than  affectionate  children.  *  To  prove  all  things 
and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good,'  was  for  them 
too  troublesome  a  task  ;  they  left  such  matters 
to  their  clergy,  whose  duty  it  was  ;  to  co-operate 
in  advancing  the  Church,  by  their  time  and 
money,  was  again  too  costly  a  sacrifice,  they 
left  that  to  denominations  unblest  with  wealth. 

Such,  with  some  few  exceptions,  was  the 
lethargic  condition  of  the  laity  of  the  Church 
when  the  writings  of  their  young  champion 
aroused  them,  *  quasi  classico  dato,'  as  if  by  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet :  for  a  time,  however,  they 

02 


150  MEMOIROF 

were  content  rather  to  wonder  than  approve, 
and  to  admire  the  boldness  rather  than  applaud 
the  spirit  of  him  who  sought  to  rally  them 
around  an  almost  forgotten  standard.  But  it 
was  a  blast  long  and  loudly  blown,  giving 
courage  to  the  timid,  and  time  to  the  cautious  ; 
and  the  result  of  it  has  been,  combined  doubt- 
less with  many  other  causes,  under  the  blessing 
of  Heaven,  to  evangelize  the  character  of 
Churchmen,  making  them  prominent  in  every 
rational  scheme  of  Christian  beneficence. 

But  to  return  to  some  earlier  events  of  a  less 
public  nature. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  151 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Letters  from  1803  to  1808. 

Letter  from  Governor  Jay— Call  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia- 
Interesting  Incident  of  a  Conversion  to  the  Romish  Church — Influ- 
ence over  the  Young  —  Letters  —  Dr.  Berrian — Mr.  A.   McV 

—  Mr.  How — Anecdote  of  General  Hamilton. 

In  1803,  the  following  letter  points  out  Mr. 
Hobart  as  an  active  member  in  the  formation 
of  the  earliest  of  the  religious  societies  of- the 
Church  in  this  Diocese.  The  letter  itself, 
though  one  of  mere  acknowledgment,  is  also 
to  be  prized,  as  coming  from  one  of  the  purest 
patriots  of  our  Revolution. 

FROM  HON.  JOHN  JAY. 

'  Bedford,  21s/  January,  1803. 
Sir, 

It  was  not  until  Monday  last,  that  I  received,  by 
Mr.  Munro,  your  letter  of  the  29th  November  last, 
mentioning  that  a  Protestant  Episcopalian  Society  had 
been  instituted  for  promoting  religion  and  learning  in 
the  State  of  New-York  ;  and  informing  me  that  I  had 
been  elected  an  honorary  member  of  it. 

Be  pleased  to  present  my  acknowledgments  to  the 
Society  for  the  honor  they  have  done  me ;  and  assure 
them  that  it  will  always  give  me  pleasure  to  have 
opportunities  of  co-operating  in  the  advancement  of 
religion  and  learning. 


152  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

Accept  my  thanks  for  the  obliging  terms  in  which 
you  have  communicated  to  me  these  circumstances  ;  and 
believe  me  to  be,  Sir,  with  those  sentiments  of  esteem 
which  your  character  naturally  inspires. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

John  Jay.' 

The  Rev.  J.  H.  Hobart, 

Sec.  of  the  B.  of  T.  of  P.  E.  S. 

In  the  year  1804,  Mr.  Hobart  received  a  call 
to  the  rectorship  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Phila- 
delphia ;  his  native  city  claimed  him  ;  his 
earliest  and  best  friend,  (Bishop  White,)  urged 
him,  and  his  relations  besought  him  to  accept  a 
proposal  which  would  again  unite  them.  But 
he  had  entered  on  a  sphere  of  duty  which  was 
opening  and  expanding  before  him  into  extended 
usefulness,  and  after  some  struggle  of  native 
affection,  he  declined  the  proposition.  In  his 
reply  he  observes  :  '  My  situation,  in  New-York, 
affords  me  every  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of 
whatever  means  of  usefulness  I  may  possess.' 
*  Various  considerations,  therefore,  of  expedi- 
ency and  duty  oppose,  at  present,  what  would 
otherwise  be  very  gratifying  to  me — a  residence 
in  the  place  of  my  nativity  and  among  my  earli- 
est fiiends.' 

Among  the  more  private  incidents  of  this 
same  year,  there  was  one  which  deeply  and 
painfully  affected  his  mind.  One  of  his  female 
parishioners,  a  lady  of  education,  talent,   and 


BISHOPHOBART.  153 

more  than  ordinary  influence,  having  accom- 
panied to  Italy  her  sick  husband,  was  there 
doomed  to  watch  over  his  dying  bed  in  a  land 
of  utter  strangers.  To  one  kind  and  generous 
family  she  was,  however,  deeply  indebted  ;  by 
them  was  she  aided  in  her  painful  task,  and 
when  that  task  was  closed,  in  the  bosom  of  the 
same  family  she  found  a  home  and  Christian 
sympathy. 

Of  exalted  and  ardent  feeling,  as  her  grief 
was  proportioned  to  her  love,  so  was  her  grati- 
tude. In  the  depth  of  sorrow  she  had  received 
comfort,  and,  by  a  natural  association,  trans- 
ferred to  the  faith  her  new  friends  professed,  the 
attachment  excited  by  their  kindness.  This 
prepossession  once  seen  by  them  was  as  natur- 
ally encouraged,  and  she  returned  after  a  few 
months,  to  her  country  and  her  home,  a  decided 
proselyte  to  the  faith  of  Rome. 

The  interest  of  the  story  ;  the  sympathy  and 
respect  entertained  for  the  individual ;  a  sense 
of  duty  toward  an  erring  member  of  his  flock, 
as  well  as  the  fear  he  felt  of  the  influence 
of  such  an  example  on  young  and  ardent  minds, 
all  concurred  to  excite  deep  anxiety  in  the 
mind  of  her  pastor,  and  he  immediately  devoted 
himself,  with  his  characteristic  energy  and 
feeling,  to  the  task  of  bringing  her  back  to 
the  Church  of  her  baptism,  and  her  fore- 
fathers. 


154  M  E  M  O  I  R     0  F 

But,  unfortunately,  he  labored  in  vain  ;  her 
new  faith  was  so  bound  in  upon  her  affections, 
that  it  had  ceased  to  be  with  her  a  question  of 
reason  or  argument.  She  could  not  resisfn  what 
affliction  had  thus  sanctified  and  associated  with 
all  the  tenderest  recollections  of  the  purest  love 
and  the  deepest  sorrow.  He  found  her  fortified, 
too  by  all  those  specious  arguments  which 
the  teachers  of  that  Church  are  so  skilful  in 
using.  Under  the  urgency,  however,  of  his 
persuasions,  or  the  conclusiveness  of  his  reason- 
ing, she  wavered  for  a  time,  but  eventually 
settled  down  in  the  open  profession  of  the 
Romish  faith. 

They  parted,  however,  not  in  anger,  but 
mutual  sorrow,  each  to  run  the  course  of  high 
and  conscientious  duty,  leading  him,  after  a 
few  years,  to  the  labors  of  the  episcopal  oflRce, 
and  her  to  the  station  of  lady  abbess,  in  an 
Ursuline  convent  at  the  South.  But  it  was  an 
event  that  long  rested  on  his  memory  with 
painful  interest. 


Over  the  minds  of  the  young  who  approached 
him,  Mr,  Hobart  was  always  found  to  exert  a 
peculiarly  powerful  and  happ}^  influence  ;  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  sentiments,  the  warmth  of 
his  address,  the  simplicity  of  his  whole  char- 
acter, the  heart  that  beamed  forth  in  all  that  ho 


BISHOP     HOBART.  155 

said  or  did,  all  contributed  to  bring  him  home 
and  near  to  them,  and  to  give  him  a  power 
which  he  never  failed  to  use  to  good  ends, 
whenever  he  saw  the  need  and  the  occasion. 
In  this,  however,  he  always  displayed  great 
tact ;  he  did  it  both  skilfully  and  delicately, 
never  offended,  and  never  wearied  ;  there  was 
no  prosing  in  his  advice,  it  was  hinted  rather 
than  given  ;  conveyed,  sometimes,  in  one  happy 
word ;  oftentimes  in  a  short,  pointed,  familiar, 
perhaps,  abrupt  question,  which,  if  it  implied 
rebuke,  was  generally  softened  by  some  little 
action  of  kindness,  or  even  fondness,  which 
marked  personal  affection.  All  this  too  passed 
so  rapidly  (for  he  never  dwelt  upon  such  topics) 
that,  oftentimes,  it  was  not  till  after  reflection 
had  brought  back  the  word,  the  look,  or  the 
action,  that  its  full  import  was  understood  ; 
then,  indeed,  its  meaning  opened,  and  his 
words,  if  they  chanced  to  fall  on  tender  ground^ 
like  seeds  dropped  into  it,  began  to  swell  and 
grow  up.  Happy  they  in  whom  they  brought 
forth  fruit  unto  perfection,  for  they  were  wise 
words,  and  always  contained  within  them  the 
germ  of  some  good  Christian  principle. 

*  His  devotion,'  such  is  the  language,  to  the 
author,  of   one  *    who   was    formed   upon   his 

♦  Rev.  W.  R.  W. 


156  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

model,  *  was  too  deep  and  reverential  to  admit 
of  that  light,  random,  almost  business-like  mode 
of  talking  on  religious  subjects,  which  is,  unfor- 
tunately, too  fashionable  in  the  present  day. 
But  when  he  did  introduce  spiritual  matters  in 
conversation  (and  that  was,  whenever  there 
was  fit  occasion  and  promise  of  a  good  result,) 
then  it  was  in  few  words,  but  words  coming 
from  the  heart  and  reaching  to  the  heart. 
Such,  I  well  remember,'  he  adds,  '  when  S 
offered  myself  to  him  as  a  candidate,  was  the 
nature  of  his  heart-searching  examination  into 
ray  sense  of  the  nature  of  that  holy  office.  It 
lasted  but  few  minutes,  but  it  made  an  impres- 
sion,— an  impression  of  seriousness  and  spiritu- 
ality, and  faith  unshaken  in  the  things  of  God, 
which  time,  nay,  I  trust,  eternity,  will  not 
efface.' 

To  him,  therefore,  the  young  persons  of  his 
extensive  parish  freely  resorted  for  counsel  and 
advice,  for  the}"  were  always  certain  such  ad- 
vice would  be  not  only  frankly,  but  wisely  and 
kindly  given.  One  instance  of  this  kind  will 
be  best  told  in  the  words  of  the  affectionate 
narrator.* 

'My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Hobart  com- 
menced in   the  winter  of  1805,  when  I  was  in  my 


.» 


Dr.^Berrian's  Narrative,  pp.  104-108. 


B  I  S  n  0  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  157 

eighteenth  year ;  and  as  the  circumstances  which  led 
to  it  were  somewhat  peculiar,  I  trust  that  a  slight  notice 
of  them  may  not  be  altogether  uninteresting  to  others. 
My  own  mind  always  reverts  to  this  period  with  delight, 
not  only  from  the  kindness  and  regard  with  which  I  was 
favored  in  the  very  beginning  of  our  intimacy,  but  from 
the  important  influence  of  Mr.  Hobart's  friendship  on 
the  whole  course  of  my  life.  I  was  at  that  time  most 
anxiously  engaged  in  examining  the  great  truths  of 
religion  ;  endeavoring  to  settle  and  fortify  myself  in  the 
principles,  which,  from  childhood,  I  had  been  taught  to 
venerate,  and  to  carry  them  out  in  practice.  In  this 
state  of  my  mind,  every  thing  on  these  important  sub- 
jects that  I  could  procure  from  public  libraries,  or  private 
friends,  was  read  with  eagerness  ;  but  having  no  judi- 
cious guide  to  direct  me,  I  found  that  much  of  my  time 
was  lost  in  this  desultory  course,  and  that  very  often, 
instead  of  being  enlightened,  I  was  embarrassed  and 
perplexed.  The  high  reputation  of  Mr.  Hobart,  even 
at  that  early  period,  had  rendered  him  an  object  of 
general  admiration ;  but  his  fervent  and  impassioned 
eloquence,  his  tender  and  touching  appeals,  made  a 
powerful  impression  on  the  hearts  of  the  young.  The 
deep  interest,  therefore,  which  he  showed  for  the  spi- 
ritual wants  of  his  flock  in  general,  persuaded  me  that 
he  would  not  be  indifferent  to  mine;  and  this  persuasion 
■\vas  strengthened  by  the  favorable  accounts  which  I  had 
heard  ^f  his  personal  character,  and  the  warmth  and 
kindness  of  his  heart.  T  had  been  drawn  into  the 
Church  by  a  train  of  circumstances  which  it  would  be 
foreign  from  my  present  purpose  to  explain.  I  was,  as 
it  were,  a  solitary  and  unknown  worshipper  in  that 
parish,  in  which  it  has  now  been  so  long  my  happiness 
to  stand  in  a  most  interesting  and  endearing  relation  to 
P 


158  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

thousands.  In  this  state  of  perplexity,  then,  on  ques- 
tions of  the  deepest  import  to  my  peace,  I  wrote  a  letter 
to  him,  staling  my  difficulties  in  regard  to  a  proper 
course  of  theological  reading,  and  begging  the  favor  of 
his  direction  and  advice.  It  was  answered  immediately 
with  his  characteristic  promptitude,  and  is  now  intro- 
duced, both  as  a  memorial  of  his  kindness,  and  a  most 
valuable  guide  to  the  inquiries  of  others. 

TO  REV.  DR.  BERRIAN. 

"  New  -  York,  February  14,  1805. 
Sir, 

I  certainly  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  request  of  a 
young  man,  who,  in  this  degenerate  day,  when  most 
young  men  are  occupied  with  corrupting  pleasures,  and 
satisfied  with  superficial  acquirements,  devotes  his  time 
to  solid  reading,  and  appears  sensible  of  the  value  of 
that  knowledge  which  is  able  to  make  him  wise  unto 
eternal  life.  I  conclude  your  wish  is  to  read  some  books 
on  theology,  both  as  a  scholar  and  a  Christian,  to  study 
the  elements  of  theology  as  a  science,  and  to  apply  that 
science  to  its  proper  and  only  valuable  end  —  the  im- 
provement and  regulation  of  the  heart  and  life.  Under 
this  impression,  I  shall  mingle  in  the  following  list 
some  books  of  a  practical  nature,  with  others  that 
respect  more  properly  the  theory  of  religion. 

'  The  Scholar  Armed,'  a  work  which  contains  several 
valuable  tracts  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  on  the 
constitution  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  on  some  of  the 
most  important  of  its  doctrines,  and  which,  if  carefully 
studied,  will  store  the  mind  with  the  most  sound  and 
valuable  information  on  the  most  important  topics  of 
divinity  ;  Paley's  Evidences  ;  Butler's  Analogy  ;  Camp- 
bell on  Miracles  ;  Leland's  View  of  Deistical  Writers  ; 


BISHOP     HOBART.  159 

Porteus'  (Bishop  of  London)  Summary  of  the  Evidences 
of  the  Christian  Revelation ;  Bishop  Newton  on  the 
Prophecies ;  Gray's  Key  to  the  Old  Testament ;  Percy^s 
Key  to  the  New  Testament ;  Collyer's  Sacred  Inter- 
preter ;  Prideaux's  Connections  ;  Bishop  Lowth  on 
Hebrew  Poetry,  a  learned  and  elegant  work ;  Jones 
on  the  Figurative  Language  of  Scripture  —  all  the 
works  of  this  writer,  *  published  in  twelve  volumes, 
are  eminently  good ;  Stackhouse's  Body  of  Divin- 
ity; Stackhouse's  History  of  the  Bible;  Daubeny's 
Guide  to  the  Church,  and  Appendix;  Wilberforce  on 
Christianity ;  Archbishop  Seeker's  works ;  Barrow's 
Sermons,  an  old,  but  a  most  glowing,  eloquent,  and 
pious  writer  ;  Bishop  Home's  Sermons ;  Bishop  Home's 
Commentary  on  the  Psalms —  Bishop  Home  is  an  ele- 
gant and  pious  writer ;  Porteus'  Lectures  on  the  Gospel 
of  St.  Matthew;  Porteus'  Sermons;  Massillon's  Ser- 
mons ;  Bishop  Seabury's  Sermons,  excellent ;  Bishop 
Wilson's  Sermons  ;  Gisborne's  Sermons,  which  are  ex- 
cellent ;  Sherlock  on  Death,  Judgment,  Providence,  and 
a  Future  State ;  Bishop  Wilson's  Sacra  Privata.  As  I 
presume  you  are  either  of  the  Episcopal  denomination, 
or  are  not  averse  to  becoming  acquainted  with  its  pecu- 
liar characteristics,  I  will  add  one  or  two  works  on  this 
subject.  Reeves,  or  Shepherd,  or  Wheatley,  on  the 
Common  Prayer ;  Stanhope  on  the  Epistles  and  Gos- 
pels ;  Companion  for  the  Feasts  and  Fasts  of  the  Church ; 
the  Orthodox  Churchman's  Magazine,  (published  in 
England.)  I  should  be  happy  in  an  acquaintance  with 
a  young  man  of  the  character  and  dispositions  of  which, 
from  your  letter,  I  should  suppose  you  to  be. 

Your  obedient  servant,  J.  H.  Hobart." 

♦  The  Rev.  Williaro  Jones,  of  Nay  land. 


160  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  with  what  gratitude  this 
ready  and  courteous  answer  to  my  request  was  received, 
and  with  what  eagerness  and  pleasure  I  availed  myself 
of  the  privilege  which  he  freely  offered.  Shortly  after 
the  commencement  of  my  acquaintance  with  him,  he 
made  some  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  education  which 
I  had  received.  I  informed  him  that  it  had  been  suffi- 
ciently good  for  the  calling  in  life  to  which  I  was 
destined ;  and  that,  in  addition  to  what  was  strictly 
required  to  fit  me  for  business,  I  had  also  enjoyed  the 
advantage  of  some  partial  instruction  at  a  Latin  school. 
The  eagerness  with  which  he  listened  to  the  latter  cir- 
cumstance, and  the  advice  which  he  gave  me  in  conse- 
quence of  it,  seem  like  the  things  of  yesterday.  He  urged 
me  at  once  to  resume  my  classical  studies,  which  had  been 
laid  aside,  to  improve  the  intervals  of  leisure  in  my 
daily  occupations,  and  to  prepare  myself  for  any  unex- 
pected turn,  which,  in  this  changeful  world,  might  give 
a  different  direction  to  my  pursuits  and  hopes.  A  new 
scene  opened  upon  my  view — it  was  a  decisive  point  in 
my  life,  and  the  whole  course  of  it  was,  as  it  were, 
instantaneously  changed.  That  very  night  I  acted  upon 
his  advice.  I  continued  my  preparation,  under  every 
disadvantage,  for  that  favorable  turn,  of  which,  at  the 
time,  I  had  no  reasonable  expectation,  but  which,  very 
soon  after,  actually  occurred.  He  encouraged  me  by  his 
kindness,  guided  me  by  his  paternal  counsel,  employed 
his  influence  in  procuring  for  me  an  easy  admission  into 
college,  superintended  my  theological  studies,  continued 
his  friendly  offices  upon  my  entrance  into  the  ministry, 
till,  at  length,  it  was  my  privilege  to  be  associated  with 
him  at  the  same  altar,  connected  by  domestic  ties,  and 
honored  with  a  confidence  and  affection  which  were 
never  more  fully  and  gratefully  returned.' 


BISHOP     HOBART.  161 

To  another  young  friend,  who  had  gone  to 
an  English  university,  with  a  view  to  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry,  Mr.  Hobart  writes  as 
follows  : 

TO  MR.  A.  McV. 

'  New  -  York,  February  15,  1805. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  trust  you  will  permit  me  to  take  an  early  oppor- 
tunity of  congratulating  you  on  your  being  settled  in  a 
situation  which  affords  you  so  many  advantages  of  study 
and  improvement.  In  the  universities  of  England  are 
collected  all  those  sound  principles  of  science  and  of 
morals  which  have  stood  the  test  of  ages;  and  from  ^,., 

these  invaluable  stores  the  studious  youth  may  derive 
that  solid  truth  and  information,  which,  while  it 
strengthens  and  exalts  his  mind,  will  qualify  him  for 
distinguished  usefulness  and  honor  on  the  important 
stage  on  which  he  is  hereafter  to  move.  You  will  pro- 
bably, however,  soon  find  that  the  licentiousness  of  the 
age,  and  the  luxury  of  a  nation  foremost  in  grandeur  and 
in  wealth,  have  unhappily  invaded  those  sacred  seats, 
and  paralyzed,  in  a  great  degree,  that  arm  of  discipline, 
and  that  ardent  love  of  learning,  which  ought  there  to 
hold,  I  may  say,  despotic  sway.  Your  station,  then, 
while  it  is  a  station  of  eminent  advantages  and  honor, 
is  a  station  of  peril.  Pleasure  will  throw  before  you 
enticements,  with  which,  in  our  own  country,  fruitful 
as  she  already  is  in  the  means  of  licentious  gratifica- 
tions, and  in  the  motives  to  them,  you  would  not  have 
been  assailed ;  and  ridicule,  armed  with  her  keenest 
satire,  will  doubtless  seek  to  shake  those  principles  of 
piety  and  virtue  which  are  now  your  boast  and  happi- 

P  2 


162  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

ness,  and  the  boast  and  happiness  of  your  friends. 
Animated  by  the  noble  love  of  science  and  of  virtue,  you 
will,  I  ardently  believe,  indignantly  spurn  the  entice- 
ments of  pleasure,  and  the  assaults  of  licentious 
ridicule  ;  yet  you  will  excuse  me,  if,  in  the  impulse  of 
anxious  friendship,  I  remind  you  of  a  caution,  which 
even  an  inspired  Apostle  thought  a  necessary  guard  of 
his  own  virtue :  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth, 
take  heed  lest  he  fall."  Pardon  me  that  I  have  insensi- 
bly fallen  into  the  serious  style  of  the  monitor,  when  I 
intended  only  to  offer  you  the  congratulations  of  a  friend. 
I  am,  indeed,  strongly  tempted  to  envy  you  the 
advantages  of  your  situation.  Seated  in  the  bosom  of 
learning,  where  every  step  you  take  is  on  ground  which 
science  calls  her  own ;  where  the  spirit  of  those  sages, 
who,  in  long  succession,  have  ennobled  the  annals  of 
piety  and  learning,  excites  an  ardent  emulation  to 
acquire  their  virtues,  to  equal  their  usefulness  and 
fame ;  and  where  the  springs  at  which  they  imbibed 
knowledge  and  virtue  are  still  open  to  the  inquisitive 
and  studious  youth,  you  enjoy  advantages  which  may 
well  excite  the  envy  of  those  who  justly  appreciate  the 
means  of  advancing  in  literature  and  virtue.  Nor  do  I 
consider  it  among  the  least  of  those  circumstances,  of 
which  you  may  be  justly  proud,  that  in  this  degenerate 
day,  when  superficial  attainments  terminate  the  labors 
of  many  of  our  youth,  and  corrupting  pleasures  blast  the 
usefulness  and  happiness  of  others  of  them,  you  have 
with  noble  zeal  chosen  a  profession,  which,  while  it 
eminently  advances  the  improvement  of  your  own  mind 
and  heart,  devotes  you  to  the  exalted  and  disinterested 
business  of  promoting  the  temporal  and  eternal  happi- 
ness of  your  fellow-men.  With  all  its  difficulties  and 
discouragements  —  difficulties  and  discouragements  in* 


B  I  S  H  0  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  163 

creased  by  the  infidelity  and  profligacy  of  the  age  —  the 
profession  of  a  clergyman  is  fruitful  in  every  enjoyment 
which  the  pursuit  of  science,  the  consciousness  of  doing 
good,  and  the  prospect  of  a  blessed  immortality  can 
afford  :  and  when  the  difficulties  and  discouragements 
of  the  ministry  intimidate  us,  let  our  zeal  be  kindled  at 
the  recollection  that  the  primitive  disciples  promulgated 
the  Gospel  in  the  midst  of  the  enraged  flames  of  perse- 
cution, and  sealing  their  faith  by  their  blood,  have 
obtained  that  crown  of  glory  which  fadeth  not  away. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  the  Church  in  your 
own  country  needs  those  exertions  of  pious  zeal  which 
crowned  with  success  and  with  glory  the  first  teachers 
of  our  holy  faith.  Ardently,  no  doubt,  do  your  friends 
anticipate  your  future  distinguished  labors  in  this  most 
important  of  all  professions.  If  with  less  ardor,  cer- 
tainly not  with  less  sincerity,  do  I  anticipate  your  return 
to  your  country,  enriched  with  those  attainments  of  piety 
and  learning  which  will  make  you  at  once  the  blessing 
and  the  boast  of  your  Church ;  and  will  enable  you  to 
serve  with  eminent  success  the  first  and  best  of  all 
masters,  that  divine  Saviour  who  died  to  purchase  im- 
mortality and  glory  for  a  fallen  race.  That  you  may 
thus  serve  him  is  no  doubt  the  subject  of  your  daily 
desires  and  prayers. 

Accept  the  sincere  wishes  and  prayers  of  yours,  &c., 

J.  H.  HoBART. 

May  I  not  hope  that  you  will  indulge  me  with  full 
information  concerning  your  present  situation,  pursuits, 
kc.  ?  It  will  be  in  your  power  to  communicate  much 
that  will  be  new  and  highly  interesting  to  me.  I  lament 
very  much  that  Mr.  Boucher  died  before  you  reached 
England.' 


164  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

The  applications  to  him  for  advice  were  often 
anonymous,  and  the  writers  of  them  sometimes 
never  known.  The  following,  bearing  that 
character,  the  author  has  lighted  upon  among 
his  papers.  It  may  serve  to  give  some  idea  of 
the  under -current  of  business  that  was  always 
pressing  upon  him. 

'  Dear  Sir, 

I  should  sooner  have  acknowledged  the  receipt  of 
your  kind  letter,  but  delayed  it  until  I  could  read  some 
of  the  books  you  mentioned.  The  general  rules  you  give 
in  the  sermons  are  excellent,  but  we  are  too  apt  to  con- 
clude that  vvrriters  do  not  intend  their  remarks  to  apply 
to  certain  amusements  of  which  we  are  fond,  and  in 
which  we  bring  ourselves  to  believe  there  can  be  no 
harm  ;  I  am,  therefore,  obliged  to  you  for  the  parti- 
cular observations  on  the  theatre. 

I  see  I  have  led  you  into  a  mistake  which,  perhaps,  I 
ought  to  have  guarded  against.  I  am  not  an  Episco- 
palian, but  am  not  on  that  account  averse  to  receiving 
instruction  from  books  intended  chiefly  for  the  persons 
belonging  to  that  Church.  It  would,  I  do  not  doubt,  give 
me  satisfaction  to  avail  myself  of  the  offer  you  make 
of  a  personal  communication,  but,  at  present,  I  believe  I 
do  right  in  declining  it.  Should  circumstances  permit, 
I  will  at  some  future  time  make  myself  known,  until 
when  I  must  again  beg  that  you  will  allow  me  to  remain 
as  I  am. 

May  I  request  that,  occasionally,  in  your  addresses  to 
the  throne  of  grace,  you  will  remember  to  ask  assist- 
ance for  one  who  is  sincerely,  but  feebly,  endeavoring 
to   pass  through  things   temporal  as  not   to  lose   the 


B  I  SHO  P     H  O  B  ART.  165 

things  eternal?  And  may  that  God,  whose  ear  is  open 
to  all,  strengthen  your  hands,  and  give  you  many  souls 
as  crowns  of  rejoicing  in  that  day  when  all  must  stand 
before  him,  and  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  must  be 
revealed. 

The  following  are  some  farther  chance  rem- 
nants of  a  correspondence  of  which  the  reader  is 
already  aware : 

TO  THOMAS  Y.  HOW,  ESU,. 

'New -York,  October  14,  1807. 
My  dear  How, 

I  rejoice  to  hear  that  you  are  going  on  with  your 
answer  to  Dr.  M.'s  book.  It  requires  animadversion. 
I  send  you  Chandler's  "  Appeals,"  and  Slater's  "  Original 
Draught,"  which  contain  an  answer  to  almost  all 
M.'s  arguments.     Mr.  Seward  takes  charge  of  them. 

Dr.  M.  magnifies  the  number  of  bishops.  But  in  the 
primitive  age  the  dioceses  were  small,  comprehending, 
generally,  only  a  city,  or  principal  village,  with  the  ad- 
jacent country  and  villages,  in  which,  however,  there 
were  several  clergy  and  congregations.  The  extent  of 
a  diocese  is  not  an  essential  point  in  Episcopacy,  as 
you  know,  according  to  what  Jerome  says,  "  Wherever 
a  bishop  is,  whether  at  Rome  or  at  Engubium,  &c.  &c. 
they  are  all  equal."  When  general  councils,  compre- 
hending extensive  proyinces,  were  held,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  there  should  be  so  many  bishops. 

The  subject  of  your  ordination  has  been  mentioned  in 
the  Vestry — they  are  all  pleased  at  it,  and  their  expecta- 
tions beat  high  concerning  you — you  will,  therefore, 
direct  your  attention  to  the  preparatory  studies.     Make 


166  MEMOIROF 

yourself  well  master  of  Stackhouse's  '  Body  of  Divinity.' 
Your  reading,  however,  is  already  so  accurate  and 
extensive  in  theology,  that  you  need  not  be  under  the 
smallest  anxiety  on  that  subject. 

May  God  bless  you,  my  dear  friend.  I  trust,  in  his 
holy  providence,  he  designs  you  for  distinguished  use- 
fulness to  his  Church.  Offer  up  your  prayers  for  me. 
You  have  always  the  ardent  prayers  of 

Your  devoted  friend, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

The  same  bright  hopes  Mr.  Hobart  expresses 
in  a  second  letter  soon  after.  It  concludes  in 
these  words  :  *  With  impatience  I  look  for  the 
period  when  the  friend  of  my  early  days  will  be 
associated  with  me  in  the  most  exalted  of  all 
studies  and  pursuits.' 

The  work  alluded  to  of  his  correspondent  was 
an  answer  to  Dr.  Miller's  Letters  on  Episcopacy : 
it  appeared  in  the  course  of  the  following  year, 
just  before  his  taking  Orders,  and  by  the  ability 
it  displayed,  excited  high  hopes  of  the  author's 
future  eminence.  *Elieu!  quantum  mutatus 
ab  illo,'  &c. 

The  following  letter  to  the  same  individual, 
from  another  mutual  friend,  will  show,  however, 
that  Mr.  Hobart  was  not  alone  in  his  estimate 
of  Mr.  How's  character. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  167 

FROM  MR.  C.  F.  MERCER  TO  MR.   T.  T.  HOW. 

*  January  31,  1805. 

I  write,  my  dear  How,  under  an  uncertainty  whe- 
ther my  letter  will  find  you  in  New- York,  or  have  to 
follow  you  in  an  American  or  European  tour  ;  but  I 
thank  God  that  your  health  continues  to  mend.  Your 
country,  equally  with  your  friends,  has  an  interest  in 
your  recovery.  I  am  impatient,  my  dear  How,  to  see 
you  enter  on  the  stage  of  public  life,  and  to  witness  the 
exertion  of  the  rich  talents  which  nature  has  given  you, 
and  which  you  have  so  highly  cultivated.  I  have  no 
doubt  myself,  but  that  a  sense  of  public  usefulness  would 
contribute  more  effectually  to  your  perfect  recovery 
than  the  whole  "materia  medica."  Next  to  this  moral 
remedy,  the  plan  you  have  adopted  seems  to  be  best ; 
it  is,  moreover,  calculated  yet  further  to  extend  your 
information,  and  to  enlarge  the  field  of  your  imagina- 
tion. How  I  should  delight  to  accompany  you  on  your 
travels,  to  gather  instruction  from  the  clearness  and 
force  of  your  conceptions — to  listen  to  your  manly,  ner- 
vous eloquence,  but  more,  indeed,  to  share  in  your  ajSec- 
tion — to  participate  in  your  cares  and  your  enjoyments 
— to  nurse  you  in  sickness,  and  endeavor,  by  the  ten- 
derest  sympathy,  to  dispel  from  your  bosom  the  sorrow 
which  appears  to  consume  you. 

Tell  Hobart  I  shall  not  believe  he  remembers  me 
unless  he  writes  to  me.  You  may,  however,  venture  to 
give  my  love  to  him,  and  especially  to  Mrs.  Hobart. 
Let  us  endeavor,  my  dear  How,  to  make  our  correspond- 
ence less  irregular,  and  while  we  complain  of  the  selfish- 
ness of  mankind,  contribute  by  our  letters  to  atone  for 
it.     Farewell,  my  dear  How ;  remember  me   to  Mrs. 


168  M  E  M  O  1  R     0  F 

Hobart.  Kiss  my  little  goddaughter  for  me,  and  believe 
me  yet  among  the  tenderest  and  most  faithful  of  your 
friends. 

Charles  F.  Mercer.' 

■■< 

The  mention  of  his  '  manly,  nervons  elo- 
quence, '  recalls  to  recollection,  that  to  its  in- 
cidental display  in  youth,  Mr.  How  had  become 
indebted  for  the  peculiar  patronage,  which  he 
for  several  years  enjoyed,  of  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  our  age  and  country,  himself  the  model 
of  the  purest  eloquence — Alexander  Hamilton. 
The  circumstance  was  as  follows.  About  the 
year  1800,  when  political  disputes  ran  high  in 
the  city  of  New-York,  and  public  meetings  were 
marked  by  great  excitement,  General  Hamilton 
was  one  evening  present  on  a  public  call  of  that 
sort,  in  which  he  addressed  the  assembled  mul- 
titude with  more  than  his  usual  ability,  but  not 
his  usual  success,  for  the  popular  tide  was  be- 
ginning to  turn,  or  rather  was  already  running, 
strong  against  the  old  federal  party. 

At  this  moment,  a  young  man,  whom  none 
knew,  arose  to  address  the  assembly.  His  voice 
had  that  depth  of  tone  which  immediately 
arrests  the  attention  :  his  figure  for  a  youth 
was  commanding,  his  manner  grave,  his  words 
slow  and  weighty,  and  his  reasoning  clear,  close, 
and  logical.  He  spoke  well  and  boldly,  though 
on  the  failing  side.     When  he  had  concluded, 


BISHOP     HOBART.  169 

amid  many  applauding  inquiries  who  he  was, 
and  where  he  came  from,  he  retired. 

The  next  day,  General  Hamilton  took  pains 
to  discover  his  nameless  young  advocate  :  traced 
him  out,  introduced  himself  to  him,  and  finding 
him  recently  from  college,  received  him  as  a  law 
student  into  his  office,  and  procured  for  him, 
shortly  after,  an  honorable  though  nominal  rank 
in  the  army.  This  was  Mr.  Hobart's  friend, 
Thomas  Y.  How. 


170  M  E  M  O  I  R     0  F 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

From  1806  to  1810— 31s^  to  Zbth  year  of  his  age. 

Ministerial  Education  —  Protestant  Episcopal  Theological  Society  — 
Character  and  Influence—'  Churchman's  Magazine,'  establishment — 
Principles — Mr.  Hobart's  Habits  of  Business— Church  Music — Mr. 
Hobart's  Love  of  Music — Affairs  of  the  College — Election  of  Dr. 
Mason  as  Provost — Bible  and  Common  Prayer  book  Society — Ob- 
jects— Earliest  Sermon  published  of  Mr.  Hobart,  '  The  Excellence  of 
the  Church' — Examination  of  its  Principles. 

But  while  thus  laboring  for  the  edification 
of  the  Church,  in  what  may  be  termed  its  out- 
works, Mr.  Hobart  felt  that  the  corner-stone  of 
its  citadel  was  yet  to  be  laid  within,  by  some 
adequate  provision  for  the  education  of  its 
clergy.  As  yet,  in  truth,  there  was  none.  The 
Canons  of  the  General  Church  (1804)  had, 
indeed,  provided  for  the  examination  of  the 
candidate,  but  not  at  all  for  his  instruction : 
and  how,  indeed,  could  they,  without  having 
any  thing  at  their  disposal  ;  without  books  or 
teachers,  and  without  funds  to  provide  either 
the  one  or  the  other.  The  divinity  student  in 
our  Church  was,  therefore,  thrown,  necessarily 
and  altogether,  upon  his  own  resources,  and, 
mainly,  his  own  judgment.  With  a  few  general 
directions,  furnished  by  the  Canons,  he  was  left 
to  grope  his  way  vaguely,  if  not  blindly,  through 


BISHOP     HOBART.  171 

the  most  voluminous,  intricate,  and  perplex- 
ing of  all  professional  studies,  without  aid  or 
guidance  beyond  the  casual  counsel  of  some 
friendly  parochial  minister,  who  certainly  could 
not  liave  the  leisure,  and  most  probably  had 
not  the  ability  to  solve  the  doubts  by  which  the 
conscientious  student  must  on  these  subjects  be 
daily  arrested,  or  determine  his  choice  amid  con- 
flicting authorities. 

In  this  state  of  utter  destitution,  to  do  any 
thing  for  the  student  was  to  do  much.  Mr.  Ho- 
bart  did  all  that  at  this  period  could  be  "done. 
He  planned  and  organized  a  clerical  association 
under  the  title  of  *  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Theological  Society,'  with  a  view,  as  stated  by 
its  constitution,  *  to  the  advancement  of  its 
youthful  members  in  theological  knowledge,  in 
practical  piety,  and  in  all  those  principles, 
duties,  and  dispositions,  which  may  fit  them 
for  becoming  orthodox,  evangelical,  and  faith- 
ful ministers  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.' 

This  plan  took  effect  in  the  year  1806,  and, 
however  feeble  in  its  means,  is  yet  to  be  con- 
sidered as  the  germ  of  the  noblest  existing  insti- 
tution of  our  Church — its  *  General  Theological 
Seminary,'  an  institution  which  now  bids  fair  to 
realize  what  could  then  be  seen  only  afar  off, 
an  adequate  supply  to  the  Church  of  a  well- 


172  M  E  M  O  I  R     0  F 

trained  and  learned,  as  well  as  a  pious  and 
spiritual  ministry. 

Of  this  association  the  meetings  were  held 
weekly,  under  the  guidance  of  a  presiding 
clergyman,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop. 

*  Many,'  says  one,  whose  theological  educa- 
tion was  mainly  derived  from  it,  'look  back 
with  gratitude  to  the  helps  and  advantages 
which  it  afforded  them,  and  some,  perhaps, 
may  number  it  among  the  means  by  which 
they  have  been  raised  in  the  Church  to  useful- 
ness, respectability,  and  honor.'  * 

The  constitution,  with  the  rules  for  the  regu- 
lation and  government  of  the  Society,  were 
drawn  up  by  Mr,  Hobart,  and  the  prescribed 
forms  of  devotion,  which  were  also  compiled  or 
composed  by  him,  '  were,'  to  borrow  the  lan- 
guage of  the  authority  above  quoted,  '  so  beau- 
tiful, appropriate,  and  impressive,  that,  as  they 
were  never  joined  in  without  emotion,  so,  I 
think,  they  cannot  be  read  without  admiration.' 
Let  those  (his  present  biographer  would  add) 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  regard  Bishop 
Hobart  as  a  formalist  in  religion,  see  how  that 
impression  tallies  with  the  following  sentiments 
and  language.  Among  the  prescribed  duties  of 
the  presiding  clergyman,  it  was  his  part  *  to 

*  Berrian,  Narrative,  p.  118. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  173 

impress  on  the  members  the  usefulness,  the 
dignity,  and  the  high  consolations  and  rewards 
of  the  Christian  ministry  ;  to  enforce  the  neces- 
sity and  duty  of  acting  at  all  times  with  that 
circumspection  and  propriety  which  were  de- 
manded equally  by  their  Christian  obligations, 
and  by  the  sacred  profession  which  it  was  their 
intention  to  assume  ;  to  urge  them  to  acquire 
and  to  cherish  a  practical  view  of  the  exalted 
plan  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ  ;  its 
conditions,  its  aids,  and  rewards,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  fitted  in  after-life  for  proclaiming 
and  enforcing  them  with  suitable  fidelity  and 
zeal  ;  to  explain  to  them  the  excellence  of  that 
apostolic  and  primitive  Church  to  which  they 
had  the  happiness  to  belong ;  and  above  all,  to 
impress  on  them,  that,  as  they  could  hope  for 
salvation  only  through  the  merits  of  their  Lord 
and  Redeemer  Jesus  Christ,  they  should  be 
frequent  and  earnest  in  invoking  the  grace  of 
God,  to  enlighten  and  purify  their  hearts,  to 
strengthen  them  against  the  temptations  of  the 
world,  and  to  enable  them  to  discharge  the 
public  duties  of  the  ministry  as  well  as  the  pri- 
vate duties  of  the  Christian  life.'  * 

In  the  Office  of  Devotion,  opening  the  busi- 


♦  Berrian,  p.  43. 
C12 


174  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

ness  of  each  meeting,  we   find  the  following 
appropriate  prayer  : 

Almighty  God,  forasmuch  as  without  thee  we  are 
not  able  to  please  thee,  grant  us  the  aids  of  thy  heavenly 
grace  in  the  important  duties  in  which  we  are  now  to 
be  engaged. 

Blessed  be  thy  holy  name  that  thou  hast  inspired 
these  young  persons  with  the  resolution  to  devote  them- 
selves to  thee  in  the  sacred  ministry  of  thy  Church. 
Aid  them,  O  Lord,  in  their  preparation  for  this  most 
important  and  honorable  work.  Open  to  their  minds 
the  treasures  of  thy  everlasting  Gospel.  Imprint  on 
their  hearts  the  great  truths  of  salvation,  through  thy 
Son  Jesus  Christ.  May  they  in  all  their  studies,  and 
in  all  their  exercises,  be  diligent,  zealous,  and  faithful ; 
may  they  aim  at  advancing  thy  glory,  and  the  immortal 
interests  of  their  fellow-men ;  may  their  only  emulation 
be,  who  shall  love  thee  best,  who  shall  serve  thee,  the 
greatest  and  best  of  Beings,  with  the  purest  zeal ;  and 
may  they  advance  in  that  divine  knowledge  by  which 
they  will  finally  save  their  own  souls,  and  the  souls  of 
those  to  whom  they  may  hereafter  minister,  through  the 
merits  and  mediation  of  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ.  Amen.* 

The  closing  devotions  terminated  with  the 
following  deep  and  fervent  petitions  : 

Most  gracious  and  merciful  God,  we  render  thee  most 
humble  and  hearty  thanks  as  for  all  thy  mercies,  so 
especially  for  the  inestimable  plan  of  salvation  through 
thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  we  have  access  to  thee, 

*  Berrian,  p.  115. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  175 

our  offended  judge,  in  whom  we  receive  the  spirit  of 
truth  and  grace  to  enlighten  and  purify  our  nature,  and 
in  whom  we  enjoy  a  title  to  an  everlasting  inheritance 
of  glory  beyond  the  grave.  Look  graciously,  we  be- 
seech thee,  upon  these  young  persons,  who,  depending 
upon  thy  grace,  are  humbly  desirous  to  prepare  for 
receiving  the  glorious  ministry  of  reconciliation,  and  to 
become  the  heralds  of  mercy  and  salvation  to  a  fallen 
world.  Strengthen  and  increase,  we  beseech  thee,  the 
good  desires  which  thy  grace  has  enkindled.  Impress 
on  them  the  exalted  dignity,  the  everlasting  importance, 
and  the  rich  rewards  of  the  Christian  ministry,  that  no 
prospect  of  worldly  advantage,  no  enticements  of  sen- 
sual pleasure,  may  seduce  them  from  the  service  of 
thee.     Amen. 

Blessed  Jesus,  the  divine  Head  of  the  Church  which 
thou  hast  purchased  with  thy  blood,  behold  with  thy 
favor  these  young  members  of  thy  fold.  May  they  ever 
cherish  a  deep  sense  of  their  own  unworthiness  and 
depravity,  and  a  lively  view  of  thy  grace  and  mercy, 
that  they  may  be  fitted,  as  the  ministers  of  thy  ever- 
lasting Gospel,  for  leading  the  guilty  children  of  men 
to  thee,  their  all-sufficient  and  compassionate  Saviour. 
Amen. 

Holy  Spirit,  Almighty  Sanctifier  of  the  faithful,  en- 
rich these  persons  with  thy  heavenly  graces.  Inspire 
them  with  deep  humility  and  distrust  of  them_selves,  with 
ardent  piety  and  love  to  God,  with  humble  and  holy 
confidence  in  their  Saviour.  Teach  them  constantly  to 
invoke  thy  enlightening  and  sanctifying  power,  and  in 
thy  strength  to  war  against  all  the  temptations  of  the 
world.     May  they  regard  all  its  highest  pleasures  with 


176  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

holy  indifference,  and  press  forward  for  the  prize  of 
their  high  calling  in  Christ  Jesus.  Sanctify  them  by 
thy  truth,  that  they  may  be  preserved  from  the  evil  that 
is  in  the  world.     Amen. 

Holy,  blessed,  and  glorious  Trinity,  unto  thee  we 
commend  them.  Fit  them  for  the  holy  office  of  dis- 
playing the  manifestation  of  thy  glory  and  mercy  to  the 
world;  and  when  they  have  been  the  successful  instru- 
ments of  turning  many  to  righteousness,  and  of  advan- 
cing the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  may  they  receive  a  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away,  and  be  admitted  to  the 
participation  of  thy  ineffable  felicity.  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

Unto  God's  gracious  mercy  and  protection  we  com- 
mend you.  The  Lord  bless  you  and  keep  you.  The 
Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  you,  and  be  gracious 
unto  you.  The  Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon 
you,  and  give  you  peace  both  now  and  evermore. 
Amen.* 


In  pursuance  of  the  great  task  on  which  he 
had  entered,  of  building  up  the  laity  of  the 
Church  in  zeal  and  sound  doctrine,  Mr.  Hobart 
undertook,  about  this  time,  the  establishment 
in  New-York  of  a  religious  monthly  periodical, 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Church, 

The  *  Churchman's  Magazine,'  a  work  of 
similar  object,  had  been  for  several  years  pre- 

*  Berrian,  pp.  316-118. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  177 

vious  sustained,  though  with  difficulty,  at  New- 
Haven,  (Connecticut,)  under  the  supervision 
of  ihe  Rev.  Dr.  Smith.  Mr.  Hobart  now  pro- 
posed removing  its  pubhcation  to  the  city  of 
New-York,  which,  after  some  discussion,  was 
acceded  to,  and  he  became  its  sole  responsible 
proprietor  and  editor,  and  so  continued  until  his 
accession  to  the  episcopate,  in  1811.  The  first 
number  was  issued  April,  1808.  This  was  the 
earliest  attempt  at  such  a  work  within  the  Dio- 
cese of  New-York,  and  met,  for  a  time,  with  but 
feeble  support,  evidently  attracting  but  little 
public  interest. 

The  grounds  upon  which  its  editor  placed  it 
should  certainly  have  secured  for  it  a  wider 
patronage.  *  It  is,'  says  the  prospectus,  with 
eloquence,  as  well  as  truth,  *  to  promote  the 
knowledge  and  the  practice  of  the  truths  and 
precepts  of  Christianity  ;  to  advance  objects 
whicli  must  appear  of  the  first  importance  to 
every  good  citizen,  and  every  good  man, — for 
without  religion  society  is  deprived  of  the  only 
effectual  restraint  on  those  passions  that  are 
hostile  to  its  peace  and  order,  and  the  most 
powerful  incentives  to  those  virtues  which  are 
the  only  sure  basis  of  its  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness. Without  religion  life  loses  those  hopes 
which  soothe  its  numberless  cares  and  ills,  and 
brighten  with    immortal    light   the    scenes    of 


178  MEMOIROF 

virtuous  enjoyment.  Impressed  with  these 
considerations,  the  subscriber  shrinks  not  from 
the  difficulties  and  labors,  the  cares  and  the 
responsibility  which  he  will  have  to  encounter 
as  editor  of  this  miscellany.  He  will  endeavor 
to  discharge  the  sacred  duty  of  exposing  error 
and  vindicating  truth,  in  that  spirit  and  manner 
which,  if  they  do  not  remove  prejudices,  shall 
never  increase  or  confirm  them  by  rudely 
wounding  the  feelings,  or  invadmg  the  rights 
of  character  and  conscience.'  * 

It  is  one  of  those  minor  circumstances  which 
mark  the  identity,  at  all  times,  of  Mr.  Hobart's 
character,  and  the  continuity  of  a  policy  adopted 
upon  principle,  that  the  very  first  subject  that 
follows  the  prospectus,  should  be  the  biography 
of  the  individual  the  republication  of  whose 
work  constituted  the  first  of  his  own  editorial 
labors  ;  f  *  the  life,'  says  he,  *  of  a  layman  and 
a  scholar,  who  distinguished  himself  by  his 
labors  in  the  cause  of  Christianity,'  and  con- 
cludes his  eulogium  with, — '  Honorable  and 
happy  would  it  be  for  the  Church  could  she 
boast  of  many  such,  who,  while  they  adorn  her 


*  Circular,  &c, 

t  William  Stevens,  the  author  of 'Constitution,  &c.,  of  the 
Christian  Church.' 


BISHOP     HOBART.  179 

doctrines  by  a  holy  life,  defend  and  support  her 
by  their  talents  and  munificence.'  * 

With  most  men,  absence  of  patronage  would 
have  been  an  argument  for  its  discontinuance, 
with  its  editor  it  was  the  reverse,  it  was  the 
strongest  argument  for  persevering,  for  it  proved 
the  necessity  of  the  work  he  had  in  hand.  He 
therefore  redoubled  all  his  efforts,  and  found,  as 
men  always  will  find,  if  true  to  themselves,  in  a 
good  cause,  that  success  is  never  to  be  despaired 
of.  An  honest  zeal,  well-directed  talents, 
and,  above  all,  a  never-tiring  industry,  seldom 
fail  to  carry  their  reward  with  them.  This 
Mr.  Hobart  well  knew,  and  when,  added  to 
this,  came  the  reliance,  which  few  men  more 
deeply  felt,  on  that  blessing  which  waits  on 
conscientious  endeavor  for  the  advancement  of 
gospel  truth,  no  wonder  that  he  persevered,  or 
that  perseverance  was  crowned  with  success. 
The  '  Churchman's  Magazine '  was,  therefore, 
carried  on  with  growing  reputation,  for  several 
years,  until  it  became  merged  in  other  and, 
perhaps,  more  efficient  forms  of  attaining  the 
same  end. 

The  only  wonder  in  relation  to  such  a  work 
is,  when  and  where  Mr.  Hobart  found  time  for 
his   editorial  labors,   for  he   permitted  nothing 

*  '  Churchman's  Magazine,'  1808.  p.  241. 


180  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

to  pass  without  personal  revision,  amid  the  mul- 
tiplied, or  rather  unremitted  calls,  which  his 
professional  duty  and  public  reputation  brought 
upon  him,  from  morning,  it  may  be  said,  even 
imtil  night. 

Nor  was  he  content  with  what  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  his  charge.  Among  the  incidental 
remembrances  of  an  active  benevolence,  which 
was  ever  laboring  for  others  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  toils,  tbe  following,  though  a  trifle,  is  one 
that  wnll  be  appreciated  by  those  who  know 
the  plagues  of  the  '  press.' 

*  A  3'oung  deacon,'  says  one  *  now  an  eminent 
clerg5aTian  at  the  South,  *  having  sent  for  the 
"  Churchman's  Magazine  "  an  article  written 
with  too  much  carelessness,  Bishop  Hobart 
voluntarily  undertook,  with  no  little  cost  of 
time,  to  prepare  it  for  the  press,  although  no 
acquaintance,  at  that  time,  existed  betweeix 
him  and  the  writer.  He  was  further  pleased  to 
introduce  the  article  to  public  notice  with  some 
remarks  very  encouraging  to  the  unfledged 
author,  and  said  not  one  w^ord  of  the  trouble 
incurred  by  the  worthy  editor.  But  he  ever 
delighted  to  foster  the  efforts  of  the  young, 
especially  when  employed  in  the  service  of  his 
beloved  Church.' 

♦  The  Rev.  Dr.  Gadsden,  of  South-Carolina. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  181 

This,  certainly,  was  kindness,  and  doubly  so 
from  one  whose  hands  were  so  full ;  but  some 
men  there  are  who  seem  to  find  time  for  every 
thing,  and  Mr,  Hobart  was  one  of  them.     Two 
marks   which  the  author   has   often   noted  as 
never-failing  tests  of  a  business  man,    he  had 
in  perfection  ;    he   never   committed   to  others 
what  he  could  do  himself,  and  never  deferred 
himself  whatever  he  had  to  do.     Wiih  the  aid 
of  these    two   rules,    perhaps,    there   would  be 
more   like   him.      'Tis   true   all   have   not  his 
talents.    In  the  work  of  the  press,  rapid  thought 
and  a  ready  pen,  made  a  little  time  go  far  ;  but 
the  higher   secret  was,   a   conscientious  spirit 
allowed  no  minute  to  be  wasted.    But  it  was  the 
same   in   all.       He  had   time  for   every  thing 
but  to  be  idle  :  always  seriously  bus}'',  yet  al- 
ways at  leisure  for  any  call  of  duty,  or  of  kind- 
ness.      His   powers    of    abstraction,    however, 
were,  perhaps,  peculiar ;  he  could  turn  at  any 
moment  from   the    subject    that    most    deeply 
engrossed  him  ;    enter  with  all  his  heart  into 
the  new  one  to  which  he  was  summoned,  and 
return   again   to   his  first   thoughts  when   the 
interruption  was  past,  without  seeming  to  lose  a 
link  in  the  chain  of  his  speculations. 

In  1809  was  established  the  Bible  and  Com- 
mon Prayer-book  Society  of  New- York,  the 
earliest  association,    (it  is   believed)   with   the 

R 


182  M  E  M  0  I  R    O  F 

exception  of  the  Bible  Society  of  Philadelphia 
for  the  Distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  in  our 
country.  Of  it,  Bishop  Moore  was  'ex  officio' 
President,  and  all  the  clergy  Managers ;  but 
it  is  doing  injustice  to  none  to  say,  that  Mr. 
Hobart  was  the  originator  and  soul  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. The  Constitution  with  an  'Address' 
from  his  pen  are  to  be  found  in  the  April  num- 
ber of  this  year,  of  the  Churchman's  Magazine. 
After  exhorting  those  whom  it  addresses  '  as 
friends  of  their  country,  as  Christians,  and  as 
members  of  the  Church,'  it  thus  closes  its  appeal 
for  the  Prayer-book  :  '  Universally  admired  for  its 
simplicity  and  its  pathos,  it  is  acknowledged 
even  by  many  who  reject  it  to  be  an  affecting 
and  correct  display  of  evangelical  doctrine,  and 
to  breathe  the  pure  emotions  of  the  devout  soul. 
What  better  method  can  be  adopted  to  dissemi- 
nate the  truths  of  the  Bible  than  by  dispersing 
a  book,  which,  exhibiting  these  truths  in  the 
affecting  language  of  devotion,  impresses  them 
on  the  heart  as  well  as  on  the  understanding.'  * 
The  address  on  its  first  anniversar}^  bearing 
also  internal  proof  of  being  the  production  of  Mr. 
Hobart,  concludes  with  this  solemn  appeal : 

'  Christians !  your  sympathy  is  often  awakened  for 
the  bodies  of  men.     Have  compassion  on  their  souls  ; 

♦  Churchman's  Magazine,  April  number,  1809,  p.  156. 


BISHOP    HOBART.  183 

minister  to  their  spiritual  health ;  provide  for  their 
eternal  welfare.  At  the  last  day  an  inquiry  will  be 
instituted,  Have  ye  fed  the  hungry  ?  Have  ye  clothed 
the  naked  ?  Remember  a  more  important  inquiry  will 
be,  Have  ye  fed  the  hungry  with  the  bread  of  life  ? 
Have  ye  clothed  the  naked  with  the  garments  of  salva- 
tion ?  The  earnest  prayer  is  offered  to  Him  who  holds 
in  his  hand  the  hearts  of  all  men,  that  he  would  dispose 
Christians  to  aid  an  institution,  humbly  devoted  to  his 
glory,  with  the  means  of  permanently  and  extensively 
diffusing  the  knowledge  of  his  holy  word.'  * 

Nor  was  this  Society,  as  some  were  too  ready 
to  charge  upon  it,  'inert:'  the  returns  of  the 
Treasurer,  as  they  now  lie  before  the  writer, 
exhibit  the  income  of  the  first  year  as  amount- 
ing to  $3405  ;  a  sum  at  that  day  unprecedented 
in  amount  for  such  purposes. 

Among  other  matters  which  are  marked  by 
Mr.  Hobart's  pen  in  the  columns  of  the  Maga- 
zine, about  this  time,  are  several  in  reference  to 
church  music.  This  was  one  of  his  strong  na- 
tive tastes,  being  passionately  fond  of  music  ; 
he  had  from  nature  a  nice  ear,  a  good  voice, 
and  great  sensibility,  though  his  life,  busy  from 
boyhood,  never  gave  him  time  to  acquire  skill 
on  any  instrument.  Like  every  other  talent  he 
sought  to  consecrate  it  to  its  highest  use  ;  and 

*  Address  first  anniversary  of  the  Bible  and  Common 
Prayer-book  Society. 


184  M  E  M  O  I  R    O  F 

with  that  view  both  patronized  and  aided  in  the 
preparation  of  a  work  comprising  chants,  church 
tunes,  &c.  On  this  point  he  was  a  strenuous 
advocate  for  the  restoration  of  the  older  music 
of  the  Church,  and  '  to  substitute '  (to  use  his  own 
words)  *  the  simple,  dignified,  and  solemn  music 
of  the  OLD  SCHOOL  in  the  place  of  that  light, 
quick,  and  merry  music  of  some  modern  com- 
posers which  is  totally  unsuitable  to  the  service 
of  the  sanctuary.'  In  this  species  of  music,  he 
was  a  critical  though  not  a  scientific  judge, 
looking  mainly  to  the  sentiment  or  expression, 
much  more  than  to  the  harmony  of  sounds.  In 
conversation,  the  author  remembers  him  fre- 
quently praising  or  condemning  pieces  of  music 
because  he  understood  or  did  not  understand 
them,  and  in  particular,  excluding  a  celebrated 
chant  because  the  *  ictus,'  as  he  said,  did  not 
coincide  with  the  emphasis  ;  and  still  more 
forcible  is  the  author's  recollection  of  seeing  the 
tears  roll  down  his  cheeks  as  he  listened  to  or 
joined  in  some  simple,  touching  hymn  of  family 
devotion. 

In  May  of  1810,  Mr.  Hobart  accompanied 
Bishop  Moore  to  the  consecration  of  Trinity 
Church,  Newark,  (New-Jersey,)  and  there  deli- 
vered a  sermon,  soon  afterward  published,  under 
the  title  of  *  The  Excellence  of  the  Church.' 
This  sermon,  the  first,  it  is  believed,  in  print,  of 


BISHOPHOBART.  185 

one  who  was  so  influential  both  in  and  out  of 
the  pulpit,  naturally  attracted  much  attention, 
from  both  friends  and  opponents,  and  thus 
became  the  theme  of  equal  praise  and  censure. 
Of  the  style,  his  biographer  would  observe,  that 
it  is  strongly  marked  by  its  author's  peculiarities, 
all  arising  from  ardor  of  feeling  ;  viz.  inversion 
of  arrangement — copiousness,  that  sometimes 
runs  into  profusion — and  the  frequent  use  of  figu- 
rative, in  preference  to  proper  terms  ;  a  style,  in 
short,  better  fitted  for  delivery  than  reading,  as 
perhaps,  however,  that  of  all  powerful  speakers 
is.  The  answer  of  Charles  James  Fox,  to  one 
who  complained  of  a  speech  of  his,  when  seen 
in  print,  was — '  Sir,  the  speech  was  made  to  be 
heard,  not  read.'  The  same  justification,  we 
doubt  not,  many  readers  would  deem  requisite 
in  the  present  case,  though  the  preface  bears 
the  further  apology  of  its  being  '  hastily  com- 
posed, at  short  notice.'  It  adds,  however,  with 
characteristic  boldness  —  *  For  the  sentiments 
contained,  tlie  author  solicits  no  indulgence.' 
To  the  sentiments,  then,  let  us  turn.  The 
preacher  first  justifies  the  religious  ceremonial 
in  which  they  had  been  engaged,  by  showing 
how  the  *  natural  sense  and  reason  of  mankind 
suggest  that  the  places  where  the  name  of 
God  is  to  be  invoked,  his  grace  implored,  and 
his  ordinances  celebrated,  should  be  consecrated 

R  2 


186  M  E  M  0  I  R     O  F 

by  religious  solemnities,  by  offices  of  supplication 
and  praise.  He  then  proceeds  to  display  '  the 
excellence  of  the  Church,'  under  the  three 
obvious  heads  of  doctrine,  ministry,  and  ordi- 
nances. 

The  leading"  doctrines  of  redemption,  as 
taught  by  the  Church,  he  reduces  again  to 
three. 

1.  The  meritorious  cause  of  man's  accept- 
ance with  God  is  the  infinite  righteousness  and 
merits  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  The  conditions  of  his  acceptance  are  re- 
pentance, faith,  and  obedience. 

3.  The  strength  by  which  these  conditions 
are  to  be  performed,  is  the  grace  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit. 

Having  thus  laid  the  foundation  which  Scrip- 
ture lays,  he  proceeds  to  examine  those  further 
theoretic  opinions,  or  dogmas,  which  men  have 
been  bold  to  build  upon  them,  and  which  com- 
monly go  under  the  name  of  Calvin,  though,  in 
truth,  they  seem  the  heritage  of  a  certain  class 
of  thinkers  in  every  age.  Their  error  lies  in 
turning  them  into  Christian  doctrines.  They  are, 
doubtless,  open  questions,  since  Scripture  is 
either  silent  upon  them,  or  obscure  ;  therefore  it 
is,  our  Church  has  not  seen  fit  to  make  them  ar- 
ticles of  faith,  or  to  hold  them  imperative  on  any 
man's  conscience,  being  content  to  reckon  all 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  187 

its  members  who  hold  to  the  same  head,  and  rest 
on  the  same  foundation,  as  exhibited  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  let  them  speculate  as  they 
will  with  St.  Augustine,  Calvin,  Luther,  or 
Arminius.  On  this  point  of  Churchmen's  free- 
dom Mr.  Hobart  was,  perhaps,  not  quite  so 
liberal  as  his  biographer  would  incline  to  be  ; 
who,  while  he  fully  agrees  with  the  preacher  in 
discarding,  or  rather  in  setting  aside,  as  need- 
less, these  Calvinistic  speculations,  is  yet  not 
so  clear  that  the  Church  intended  expressly 
to  exclude  them  ;  or,  rather,  he  is  perfectly 
convinced  that,  with  a  wisdom  we  may  term 
heavenly  in  its  freedom  from  all  sectarianism, 
it  intended  to  leave  open  what  could  only  in 
name  be  closed  up,  the  freedom  of  the  Christian 
mind  on  all  points  where  the  teaching  of  Scrip- 
ture is  not  explicit. 

But  to  proceed.  On  the  subject  of  predesti- 
nation, Mr.  Hobart  rejects  the  Calvinistic  inter- 
pretation of  the  Article,  and  justly  explains  it,  as 
well  as  the  language  of  Scripture  on  which  it  is 
founded,  into  national  and  temporal,  not  indivi- 
dual and  eternal  election. 

The  Calvinistic  notion  of  a  partial  redemption 
he  rejects  with  the  horror  it  naturally  excites. 
Universal  redemption,  he  shows  to  be  the  lan- 
guage both  of  Scripture  and  the  Church  ;  nor 
only  so,  it  is  the  language  of  the  heart  and 


188  MEMOIROF 

reason  of  man,  so  stamped  in  upon  his  nature, 
and  interwoven  with  his  conscience,  that  we 
may  well  say,  '  Wo'  to  that  faith  that  ventures 
to  contradict  it.  That  'few  shall  be  saved,' 
while  *all  are  redeemed,'  are  positions  nowise 
discordant ;  that  loss  is  a  charge,  not  upon  God 
but  man,  and  touches  our  thoughts,  not  of  him 
but  of  ourselves. 

On  the  subject  of  '  free  will,'  he  also  rejects 
the  sense  of  Calvin,  and  points  out  the  differ- 
ence of  language  betw^een  our  Articles,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Westminster  Confession 
of  Faith  on  the  other.  '  Man  is  very  far  gone 
from  original  righteousness,'  says  the  one  — 
'  Man  is  utterly  disabled,'  is  the  language  of  the 
other ; — he  is,  *  of  his  own  nature,  inclined  to 
evil,'  says  the  Article — he  is  '  wholly  inclined  to 
evil,'  says  the  Confession  of  Faith. 

On  another  occasion,  when  giving  the  picture 
of  *  the  Churchman,'  his  language  was,  *  He 
rejects,  as  unfounded  in  Scripture,  and  utterly 
repugnant  to  reason  and  conscience,  the  tenet 
of  one  man's  responsibility  for  the  sin  of  another  ; 
of  his  coming  into  the  world  doomed  to  ever- 
lasting death  for  Adam's  sin,  and  of  that  utter 
depravity,  which  would  make  man  a  fiend.'* 

The  more  recent  comment  of  Coleridge,   on 

*  '  The  Churchman,'  p.  10. 


BISHOPHOBART.  189 

this  Article  is  strikingly  similar;  'as  far  gone 
aspossible '  for  7nan  to  go — as  far  as  was  com- 
patible with  his  having  any  redeemable  qualities 
left  in  him.  To  talk  of  man's  being  utterly  lost 
to  good  is  absurd,  for  then  he  would  be  a  devil 
at  once,'  * 

The  same  distinctive  difference  is  shown  to 
exist  in  regard  to  the  doctrines  of  '  grace'  and 
*  final  perseverance;'  the  Church  holding,  on 
these  points,  language  as  far  removed  from  the 
Pelagian  heresy  of  the  innocence  of  man,  or  the 
Papal  error  of  his  natural  strength,  as  it  is  from 
the  Calvinistic  extreme,  on  the  other  hand,  of 
his  total  impotence  and  passive  obedience  to 
the  workings  of  irresistible  grace. 

On  the  other  topics  of  the  sermon, — the  ministry 
and  worship  of  the  Church, — there  is  the  less 
reason  to  enlarge,  as  the  preacher's  sentiments 
are  well  known,  and  frequently,  in  the  course 
of  this  narrative  illustrated.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  it  is  a  calm  and  temperate  exposition 
of  both,  as  founded  upon  apostolic  and  primitive 
usage.  In  his  argument  there  is  nothing  mili- 
tant —  nothing  that  ought  to  have  provoked 
attack  from  without,  except  such  provoca- 
tion be  found  in  his  praise  of  the  Liturgy  as 
calculated   to  *  restrain  the  aberrations   of  the 


♦  < 


Table  Talk/  p,  54. 


190  MEMOIROF 

weak  and  presumptuous  ; '  those  '  voluntary 
dictates,'  as  Hooker  terms  them,  '  which  pro- 
ceed from  man's  extemporal  wit.'  Certainly, 
however,  nothing  offensive  was  meant,  yet  in  the 
following  number  of  the  '  Christian's  Magazine,' 
edited  by  Dr.  Mason,  the  notice  of  this  part  of 
the  discourse  is  as  follows  ; — '  Then  comes  the 
Liturgy.  Five  mass  books,  viz.  the  Roman 
Missals  of  Sarum,  York,  Hereford,  Bangor,  and 
Lincoln,  are  the  sources  from  which  it  was  col- 
lected by  Cranmer,  and  a  few  others,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  King.  If  we  are  not  mistaken, 
Dr.  Hobart  will  find  the  best  authority  for  the 
Liturgy  of  his  Church,  not  in  the  Bible,  but  in 
the  Statutes  of  the  house  of  Tudor.'  * 


As  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Co- 
lumbia College,  his  duties  about  this  time  were 
not  without  anxiety,  and  seldom  was  his  influ- 
ence put  to  so  nice  a  proof.  That  influence  in 
the  Board  had  been  gradually  and  slowly  ac- 
quired, and  proved  but  just  sufficient  to  stay,  at 
the  very  moment  of  its  execution,  a  project  which 
would  probably  have  proved  fatal  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  College. 

*  Vol.  iii.  p.  635. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  191 

Upon  the  prospective  vacancy  in  the  station 
of  President,  arising  from  Bishop  Moore's  in- 
creasing infirmities,  in  the  5^ear  1810,  the  con- 
spicuous talents  of  Dr.  Mason,  and  his  long 
connection  with  the  institution,  naturally  pointed 
him  out  both  to  the  Trustees  and  to  the  public 
as  the  most  prominent  candidate  for  that  office. 
His  admirers  went  even  so  far  as  to  maintain 
that  he  was  the  only  man  capable  of  raising  the 
College  out  of  that  depressed  condition  into 
which,  from  many  causes,  as  already  referred 
to,  it  had  sunk.  Under  Bishop  Moore,  whose 
duties  as  President  had  been  confined  to  official 
occasions,  discipline  had  necessarily  become  re- 
laxed, and  it  was  now  urged,  as  the  only  means 
of  restoring  it,  the  appointment  of  a  resident  and 
working  President,  with  high  and  almost  dicta- 
torial powers  ;  one  who,  with  an  ample  salary, 
and  unlimited  authority,  might  devote  to  its 
duties  his  undivided  time  and  talents,  and  thus 
be  enabled  to  stamp  upon  the  institution  the 
impress  of  his  own  high  character.  None 
doubted  of  the  correctness  of  this  reasonino-  • 
few,  of  the  individual  best  fitted  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  All  eyes,  in  short,  were  turned  to  Dr. 
Mason,  who,  at  this  time,  stood  more  than  ordi- 
narily prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  Board,  by 
an  able  and  eloquent  report,  which,  as  chairman 
of  a  committee,  he  had  recently  brought  before 


192  MEMOIROF 

the  Trustees,  detailing  the  evils  into  which  the 
College  had  fallen,  and  pointing  out  the  only 
means  by  which  they  were  to  be  met  and  reme- 
died. 

But  to  the  elevation  of  Dr.  Mason,  however 
desirable  or  desired,  there  existed  an  impediment 
apparently  insurmountable.  The  legal  condi- 
tion on  which  the  College  held  its  property  from 
Trinity  Church  was,  that  the  President  should 
be  an  Episcopalian.  With  a  view  to  the  avoid- 
ance of  this  annoying  restriction,  various  schemes 
were  suggested  and  canvassed.  The  bolder 
members  of  the  Board  were  for  breaking  through 
and  disregarding  it ;  the  more  prudent  for  ap- 
plying to  the  Legislature  to  amend  it ;  while 
others  again  were  for  bribing  Trinity  Church 
with  a  portion  of  their  own  gift  to  release  them 
from  it. 

All  these  schemes  Mr.  Hobart  thought  were 
pregnant  with  evil ;  he  therefore  opposed  them 
all  ;  he  protested  against  a  breach  of  the  condi- 
tion ;  he  dreaded  the  interference  of  the  Legis- 
lature, and  had  the  credit  of  defeating  their 
application  for  it ;  he  deprecated  the  division  of 
the  property,  though  he  still  looked  to  this  move- 
ment as  his  last  resource  ;  but  above  all,  he 
opposed,  because  he  more  than  doubted,  the 
fitness  of  the  individual  whom  all  were  strug- 
gling to  advance  to  this  high  station.     In  the 


BISHOPHOBART.  1^3 

mean  time  a  majority  of  members  stood  ready 
to  force  the  way  if  Mr.  Hobart  did  not  recede, 
and  at  any  hazard  to  make  Dr.  Mason  President. 

Agitated  by  these  contending  evils,  Mr.  Ho- 
bart was  driven  almost  to  despair :  the  day  of 
election  approached,  and  no  remedy  was  found. 
Lying  sleepless  and  restless,  as  he  himself 
stated  to  the  writer,  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
preceding  that  eventful  day,  as  he  revolved 
within  himself  how  the  evil  might  yet  be 
avoided,  or  which  was  the  least  to  choose,  sud- 
denly the  idea  came  into  his  mind  of  the  crea- 
tion of  a  new  and  temporary  office  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  College,  to  be  termed  the  *  Pro- 
vostship,'  into  which  Dr.  Mason  might  be  elected, 
with  whatevei^^lary  and  measure  of  power  his 
friends  might  see  fit  to  give.  This,  he  thought, 
would  probably  satisfy  both  them  and  him,  and 
permit  the  experiment  to  be  tried  of  his  govern- 
ment of  the  College,  while  it  would  leave  the 
charter  and  property  untouched,  the  condition 
being  complied  with,  by  means  of  a  nominal  Pre- 
sident of  the  Episcopal  communion. 

The  plans  of  Mr.  Hobart,  once  matured,  never 
slept.  He  accordingly  arose  before  day,  and 
crossing  the  river  to  Long-Island,  drove  twelve 
miles  to  the  seat  of  Mr.  Rufus  King,  at  Jamaica, 
whose  influence  in  the  Board  was  among  the 
first;    satisfied   him    during  breakfast,   of    the 


194  MEMOIROF 

feasibleness  and  prudence  of  the  scheme,  re- 
turned instantly  to  the  city,  called  upon  Mr. 
Oliver  Wolcott,  before  he  had  left  his  house  in  the 
morning,  and  having  convinced  this  gentleman 
also,  whose  opinions  had  the  same  weight  with 
the  Presbyterian,  as  Mr.  King's  had  with  the 
Episcopal  members  of  the  Board,  before  the 
hour  of  meeting  had  succeeded  in  further  unit- 
ing so  many  leading  voices  in  its  favor,  that, 
upon  the  opening  of  the  business,  when  the 
Board  met,  the  matter  assumed  that  shape,  and 
was  carried  in  that  form  by  an  almost  unani- 
mous vote.  Dr.  Mason  being  elected  '  Provost,' 
with  an  ample  salary,  and  still  ampler  powers, 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harris  elected  President,  with 
but  little  provision  for  either.  The  result  of  this 
experiment  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice 
hereafter. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  195 

CHAPTER  IX. 
A.  D.   1810.     uEt.  35. 

Canonical  Condition  of  the  Diocese — Bishop  Provoost — Character  and 
Policy — Resignation — Decision  of  the  House  of  Bishops — Examina- 
tion of  that  Decision — Bishop  Moore — Character — Influence — Elec- 
tion of  Bishop  Hobart — Difficulties  attending  the  Consecration — 
Bishop  White's  Feeling* toward  him. 

But  the  period  was  now  fast  approaching 
when  the  voice  of  the  Church  called  Mr.  Hobart 
to  higher  duties,  and  more  anxious  cares.  The 
episcopate  of  the  Diocese  of  New-York  was  at 
this  time  (1810)  in  a  condition  perhaps  not  ca- 
nonical, certainly  not  favorable  to  Christian 
peace.  It  had  within  it  two  bishops,  both  con- 
secrated to  the  government  of  the  same  Church, 
and  both  physically  capable  of  exercising  the 
duties  of  their  office.  The  explanation  of  this 
anomaly  requires  a  short  review  of  preceding 
events. 

The  Church  in  New- York  received  its  first 
bishop,  as  already  stated,  on  Easter-Sunday, 
April  8,  1787.  The  individual  who  had  been 
selected  by  the  clergy  and  laity  for  this  high 
station  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Provoost,  who, 
both  before  and  subsequently  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, had  been  connected  with  Trinity  parish, 
at  first  as  assistant  minister,  but  after  the  war 


196  MEMOIROP 

as  its  rector.  Upon  the  archbishops  and  bishops 
of  England  consenting  to  confer  episcopal  con- 
secration on  such  as  might  be  recommended  by 
the  Church  at  large,  in  the  now  independent 
States,  Dr.  Provoost  became  the  choice  of  New- 
York,  and  Dr.  White  of  Pennsylvania,  and  both 
received  episcopal  consecration  on  the  same  day, 
(4th  of  February,  1787,)  in  the  archiepiscopal 
palace  at  Lambeth. 

Bishop  Provoost  possessed  many  fitting  quali- 
fications for  the  high  office  on  which  he  now 
entered  :  he  was  learned,  benevolent,  and  pious. 
He  had,  too,  peculiar  claims  on  public,  or  rather, 
perhaps,  on  popular  confidence.  His  political 
attachments  had,  from  the  first,  been  with  the 
'  Whigs,'  and  his  conduct  during  the  revolution- 
ary contest,  in  refusing  all  church  livhig  under 
British  or  Tory  influence,  preferring  to  live  re- 
tired on  his  small  farm  in  Dutchess  county, 
which  he  did  for  fourteen  years,  from  1770  to 
1784,  in  straitened  circumstances,  if  not  in 
actual  poverty,  had  given  to  him  the  reputation, 
with  the  dominant  party,  of  a  patriot  clergyman, 
and  almost  of  a  martyr. 

But  there  were  other  traits  which  were  less 
fitted  for  rule,  at  least  in  troublous  times.  He 
loved  not  labor  for  labor's  sake,  and  perhaps 
sometimes  avoided  it  at  the  sacrifice  of  his 
rightful   influence.      Whether   from  nature  or 


BISHOP     HOBART.  197 

education,  for  he  was  of  an  English  university, 
he  had  about  him  a  certain  aristocratic  love  of 
ease  which  was  far  removed  from  that  working 
talent  which  the  condition  of  the  Church  de- 
manded, and  which  was  most  congenial  to  the 
habits  of  the  rising  republic. 

Added  to  this,  he  was  not  a  popular  preacher, 
either  in  manner  or  in  doctrine ;  both  might  be 
termed  cold  :  his  delivery  was  in  that  monoto- 
nous and  unimpassioned  tone  which  English 
preachers  of  the  last  age  studiously  sought,  as 
separating  them  most  widely  from  all  suspicion 
of  fanaticism  ;  and  his  teaching  dwelt  so  much 
on  Christian  morals,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
same  models,  as  more  than  once  to  have  re- 
quired on  his  part  the  vindication  of  his  scrip- 
tural faith. 

This  we  find  to  have  been  the  case  as  early 
as  (1770)  the  year  of  his  retirement  to  the 
country,  and  doubtless  was  an  operating  cause 
in  leading  him  to  take  that  injudicious  step. 
Writing,  about  that  period,  to  his  Cambridge 
tutor.  Dr.  John  Jebb,  he  says  : 

'  I  made  it  a  point  to  preach  the  doctrines  of  morality 
in  the  manner  I  found  them  enforced  by  the  most  emi- 
nent divines  of  the  Church  of  England.  This  brought 
an  accusation  against  me  by  the  people  that  I  was  en- 
deavoring to  sap  the  foundations  of  Christianity,  which 
they  imagined  to  consist  in  the  doctrines  of  absolute 

S2 


198  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

predestination  and  reprobation,  placing  such  an  un- 
bounded reliance  in  the  merits  of  Christ  as  to  think 
their  own  endeavors  quite  unnecessary,  and  not  in  the 
least  arailable  to  salvation.  I  was,  however,  happy 
enough  to  be  supported  by  many  of  the  principal  people 
of  New-York.' 

These  were  faults,  if  faults  they  were,  which 
age  was  not  likely  to  cure,  and  certainly  tended 
greatly  to  diminish  the  favorable  influence, 
which,  as  its  first  bishop,  he  might  have  exer- 
cised over  the  fortunes  of  the  infant  Church. 
Duties  are  generally  found  to  be  light  in  pro- 
portion as  they  are  acceptable  ;  certain  it  is  that 
to  Bishop  Provoost  his  official  station  appeared 
soon  to  become  very  burthensome,  and  after  a 
few  years,  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  he 
withdrew  from  all  but  its  absolutely  necessary 
engagements,  and  seemed  inclined  to  end  his 
days,  as  they  had  begun,  in  the  quiet  of  a  well 
furnished  and  classical  library. 

But  it  is  justice  to  add,  all  was  not  indolence  : 
sorrow  had  done  with  him  the  work  of  years, 
and  bowed  him  down  by  heavy,  repeated,  and 
most  afflictive  bereavements.  In  1799,  he  lost, 
what  to  true  affection  cannot  be  replaced,  his 
friend  and  companion  in  the  journey  of  life,  and 
in  the  following  year,  what  alone  could  be  a 
heavier  blow,  an  unworthy  son.  The  latter 
affliction  sunk  him  to  the  earth,  and  he  resolved 


BISHOP     HOBART.  199 

at  once  to  retire  from  a  station  to  the  labors  of 
which  lie  now  felt  himself  incompetent.  In 
September,  1800,  he  resigned  to  the  vestry  his 
rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  and  to  a  special 
Convention  of  the  Diocese,  summoned  Septem- 
ber 3,  1801,  being  the  first  that  had  been  called 
together  for  three  years,  he  resigned  his  episco- 
pal jurisdiction. 

His  successor  in  both  these  offices  was  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Moore,  then  one  of  the 
assistant  ministers  of  Trinity  parish  :  to  the  rec- 
torship he  was  chosen  a  few  weeks  after  his  pre- 
decessor's resignation ;  to  the  episcopate  on  the 
very  day,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  both  orders,  it 
being  a  choice  in  which  there  was  but  one 
opinion,  and  a  succession  which  had  been  looked 
forward  to  by  most  Churchmen  with  the  eager- 
ness of  well-founded  expectation. 

His  election  as  Bishop  by  the  Convention  of 
the  State  took  place  September  5,  1801,  and  on 
the  11th  of  the  same  month,  the  House  of  Bish- 
ops, who  were  in  session  at  Trenton,  notwith- 
standing they  demurred  as  to  the  validity  of  the 
resignation  of  Bishop  Provoost,  nevertheless 
proceeded  to  consecrate  his  successor. 

The  importance  of  this  act  requires  it  to  be 
unfolded  somewhat  at  large.  The  letter  of 
Bishop  Provoost,  bringing  the  matter  before  the 
House  of  Bishops,  stated  simply  the  fact  of  a 


200  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

resignation  already  made  to  the  State  Conven- 
tion, '  induced,'  as  he  says,  '  by  ill  health, 
afflictive  occurrences,  and  an  ardent  wish  to 
retire  from  all  public  employment.'  It  was  a 
new  case  in  our  ecclesiastical  polity,  involving 
most  important  results,  and  requiring  corres- 
pondent deliberation.  But  time  for  such  deli- 
beration could  not  be  given  ;  the  question  came 
upon  them  unexpectedly,  and  required,  at  the 
same  time,  immediate  action. 

In  this  emergency,  the  House  of  Bishops, 
pressed  alike  by  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and 
the  canonical  call  upon  them  for  the  consecra- 
tion of  Dr.  Moore,  and  their  fear,  at  the  same 
time,  of  sanctioning,  by  so  doing,  an  unqualified 
right  of  resignation  in  a  bishop,  with  a  view  to 
meet  both  difficulties,  took  a  half-way  course, 
which,  like  all  such,  where  principle  is  involved, 
and  as  the  result  eventually  proved,  was  a  most 
unwise  one,  multiplying,  instead  of  removing, 
the  evils  before  them.  They  protested  against 
the  resignation,  and  yet  acted  upon  it ;  'judged 
it,'  to  use  their  own  language,  '  inconsistent 
with  the  sacred  trust  committed  to  them  to 
recognise  the  Bishop's  act  as  an  effectual  resig- 
nation of  his  Episcopal  jurisdiction  ; '  yet,  with 
a  '  nevertheless,'  proceeded  to  vitiate  their  own 
reasoning,  by  consecrating  one  whose  election 
was  not  valid,  but  upon  the  supposition  of  such 


BISHOP     HOBART.  201 

resignation  being  good,  since  Dr.  Moore  had 
been  elected,  not  *  Assistant  Bishop,'  but  sim- 
ply, the  '  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New-York.' 
Still,  however,  they  desire,  as  they  sety,  to  be 
'explicit  in  their  declaration  that  they  shall 
consider  such  person  as  Assistant,  or  Coadjutor 
Bishop,  during  Bishop  Provoost's  life.'  * 

Bishop  Moore  was  consecrated  accordingly. 
Chosen  to  one  office  and  consecrated  to  another. 
Here  was,  evidently,  a  question  of  conflicting 
jurisdiction,  and  one  in  which,  as  unquestion- 
ably, the  House  of  Bishops  took  up  a  \yrong 
position.  The  right  of  a  Bishop  to  resign  his 
spiritual  character  and  functions  is  a  question 
of  speculative  divinity,  but  his  right  to  resign 
his  local  jurisdiction  is  one  of  constitution  and 
law  ;  a  free  and  natural  right,  except  in  so  far 
as  some  law  of  the  Church  should,  or  had,  set  a 
limit  to  it. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  scruples  of  the  House 
of  Bishops,  either  that  the  two  questions  were 
not  viewed  by  them  sufficiently  distinct,  or  else, 
that  seeing  the  evils  that  would  attend  an  un- 
limited right  of  resignation,  and  perceiving,  also 
that  the  whole  subject  was  a  '  casus  omissus '  in 
their  constitution,  they  were  willing,  by  one  act, 
both  to  make  the  law  and  regulate  the  case. 

*  Journals,  &c.,  1801. 


202  MEMOIROP 

In  another  point  of  view,  with  all  due  sub- 
mission, it  may  be  said,  they  were  also  in  error. 
Whenever  power  is  resigned  it  must  be  resigned 
to  those  who  give  it ;  now  the  right  of  local 
jurisdiction  came  from  the  State  Convention, 
not  from  the  act  of  consecration,  for,  if  other- 
wise, then  the  House  of  Bishops  would  have 
been  competent  to  impose  on  the  Diocese  of 
New-York,  a  bishop  who  had  not  been  elected  by 
them.  But  if  such  power  they  did  not  possess, 
neither  had  they,  at  least  not  by  any  inherent 
powers,  as  their  words  would  imply,  the  right 
to  stand  in  way  of  his  resignation.  If  such 
license,  on  the  part  of  a  bishop,  be  inexpedient, 
it  must  be  controlled  constitutionally,  as  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  General  Convention  has  since 
been  done. 

But  years  passed  before  the  evils  were  felt  to 
which  this  act  of  legislation,  or  rather,  this 
extra  legislative  opinion,  thus  opened  the  door. 
Bishop  Provoost  was  sincere  in  his  desire  for 
retirement,  and  meddled  not  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Diocese,  while  Bishop  Moore  was  not  a  man  to 
provoke  hostility  either  personal  or  official.  In 
the  mean  time,  Bishop  Moore  proceeded  to  enter 
upon  the  duties  of  his  office  with  general,  or 
rather,  universal  acceptableness. 

With  regard  to  this  latter  prelate^  it  may  be 
here  permitted  to  a  friend  and  relative  to  dwell 


BISHOP     HOBART.  203 

for  a  moment  upon  recollections  too  strong  ever 
to  be  effaced. 

He  was  the  scholar,  the  gentleman,  and  the 
Christian.  In  private  life  he  won  all  hearts  by 
gentleness  and  kindness,  and  a  cheerful,  unaf- 
fected simplicity,  which  recommended  religion 
by  the  attractive  garb  in  which  it  presented  it. 

His  public  ministrations  were  similarly  char- 
acterized ;  his  looks,  even  in  middle  life,  had  in 
them  something  venerable  ;  the  mild  expression 
of  countenance — the  intellectual  contour  of  the 
head — the  plain-parted  hair — the  tall,  slightly 
bending  and  attenuated  figure,  accorded  well 
with  the  chastened,  tones  of  his  voice,  and  the 
mild  fervor  of  his  sentiments  ;  a.nd  all  concurred 
to  give  to  his  whole  appearance  and  manner  what 
the  heart  of  the  Christian  as  well  as  the  eye  of 
the  painter  agree  in  terming  an  '  apostolic  char- 
acter.' 

Such  did  he  appear  to  the  members  of  his 
own  communion  :  to  those  beyond  it  he  presented 
the  Church  in  an  aspect  the  most  favorable  to 
win  their  good  opinions.  By  the  dignified  gen- 
tleness with  which  he  maintained  its  doctrines, 
and  the  consistent  propriety  which  marked  his 
course,  both  in  public  and  private,  he  every 
where  disarmed  opposition,  conciliated  prejudice, 
and  went  further  than  perhaps  any  other  indi- 
vidual could  then  have  done  in  recommending 


204  MEMOIROF 

it  to  public  respect  and  confidence  :  it  was  not 
easy,  its  opponents  found,  to  speak  evil  of  a 
Church  thus  spiritually  adorned,  and  meekly 
defended. 

For  ten  years  he  continued  to  preside  in  its 
councils,  with  that  mild  and  tempered  sway 
which  is  felt  rather  than  seen,  and  which, 
under  certain  circumstances,  gains  more  by 
silent  influence,  than  could  be  done  by  open 
energy.  Under  such  circumstances  was  the 
Church  placed  during  his  episcopate,  so  that 
the  Diocese  of  New- York  may  be  esteemed 
equally  happy  both  in  its  gentler  and  its  more 
active  ruler  who  succeeded  him ;  each  seemed 
fitted  by  Providence  to  the  changing  wants  of 
an  infant  Church.  It  was  nurtured  in  gentle- 
ness during  its  years  of  weakness,  and  invigor- 
ated by  labor  when  time  and  the  blessing  of 
Heaven  had  given  it  strength. 

In  the  year  1811,  struck  by  a  partial  paralysis, 
Bishop  Moore  found  himself  incapacitated  for 
active  duty,  and  caUing  a  special  Convention, 
urged  upon  them  the  propriety  and  necessity  of 
an  assistant  bishop. 

'  The  severe  affliction,'  he  observed  in  his 
letter  of  the  20th  of  March,  directing  the  call  of 
such  Convention,  'with  which  it  has  pleased 
Almighty  God  to  visit  me,  has  affected  my 
state  of  health  in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  be 


BISHOP     HOBART.  206 

impossible  for  me,  without  assistance,  to  perform 
the  duties  of  the  episcopal  office.' 

'  Avariety  of  considerations,  affecting  the  most 
important  interests  of  our  holy  Church,  appear 
to  me  to  render  this  measure  indispensable,' 

This  communication  was  followed  by  another 
addressed  to  the  Convention  itself,  on  their 
assembling,  on  the  14th  of  May,  in  which  he 
again  urges  it :  '  Although  it  has  pleased  God,' 
says  he,  '  to  mitigate  the  disease  with  which  I 
have  been  visited,  yet  I  feel  persuaded  of  the 
utter  improbability  of  my  ever  being  again  able 
to  perform  my  episcopal  functions.' 

Under  this  conclusive  feeling  there  was  no 
room  for  doubt,  and  as  little  for  delay ;  since  the 
interests  of  the  Church  at  large  were  at  stake, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  Diocese,  arising  from  the 
diminished  numbers  of  the  American  episcopate. 
The  special  Convention  proceeded,  therefore,  in 
their  pressing  duties  ;  a  resolution,  the  same 
day,  unanimously  passed  for  going  into  the  elec- 
tion of  an  assistant  bishop  ;  and,  on  the  follow- 
ing, being  May  15,  Mr.  Hobart  was  chosen  by 
a  majority  of  both  orders. 

How  fully  this  choice  was  concurred  in  by 
Bishop  Moore  was  touchingly  expressed  in  the 
few  lines  his  bodily  weakness  enabled  him, 
shortly  after,  to  address  to  the  House  of  Bishops 

T 


208  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

on  occasion  of  the  consecration,  expressing  his 
'  heart-felt  approbation  of  the  measure.' 

The  anxiety  felt  for  Mr.  Hobart's  immediate 
consecration  was  proportioned  to  the  difficulties 
which  beset  it.  These  will  be  best  given  in 
the  language  of  one  who  knew  them  best  and 
felt  them  most. 

'This  Convention,'  (1811)  says  Bishop  White,  'was 
held  under  very  serious  and  well-founded  apprehensions 
that  the  American  Church  would  be  again  subjected  to 
the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  the  mother  Church  for 
the  Episcopacy;  or  else  of  continuing  it  without  re- 
quiring the  canonical  number,  which  might  be  pro- 
ductive of  great  disorder  in  future.  Bishop  Moore  had 
been  lately  visited  by  a  paralytic  stroke,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  be  incompetent  to  the  joining  in  a  consecration, 
unless  in  his  chamber,  which  was  contemplated  as  the 
last  resort.  Bishop  Claggett,  after  severe  indisposition, 
was  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  encouraged  to  attempt  the 
journey,  but,  after  proceeding  a  few  miles,  found  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  returning.  Bishop  Madison 
thought  himself  not  at  liberty  to  leave  the  duties  of  his 
College.*  The  author  left  home  under  the  hope  of 
inducing  Bishop  Provoost  to  go  on  to  New-Haven,t  al- 
though he  had  never  performed  any  ecclesiastical  duty 
since  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Moore,  in  1801.  But, 
besides  Bishop  Provoost's  being  under  the  effects  of  a 
slight  stroke  of  the  paralytic,  sustained  two  years  before, 
he  was  at  this  time  only  beginning  to  recover  from  the 

»  William  and  Mary  College. 

t  The  appointed  place  of  meeting  of  the  General  Convention. 


BISHOP      H  O  B  A  R  T.  207 

jaundice.  He  found  himself  utterly  incompetent  to  the 
taking  of  a  journey,  but  promised,  if  possible,  to  assist 
in  a  consecration,  if  it  should  be  held  in  the  city  of 
New-York.  With  the  expectation  of  this,  Bishop  Jar- 
vis,  after  the  rising  of  the  Convention,  came  with  the 
author  to  the  said  city,  as  did  the  two  Bishops  elect. 
To  the  last  hour  there  was  danger  of  disappoint- 
ment. On  our  arrival,  a  day  also  having  been  publicly 
notified  for  the  consecration,  we  found  that  Bishop  Pro- 
voost  had  suffered  a  relapse  during  our  absence.  But, 
finally,  he  found  himself  strong  enough  to  give  his 
attendance,  and  thus  the  business  was  happily  accom- 
plished.'* 

It  was,  indeed,  a  crisis,  and  happily,  or  rather, 
providentially  overruled.  In  the  sermon  which 
preceded  the  consecration,  the  venerable  pre- 
siding Bishop  referred,  with  a  father's  fondness, 
to  his  early  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
candidate  before  him. 

'  I  shall  have  peculiar  satisfaction,'  he  said,  '  in  the 
consecration  of  a  brother  known  in  his  infancy,  in  his 
boyhood,  in  his  youth,  and  in  his  past  labors  in  the 
ministry.'  '  There  are  not  likely,'  he  adds,  '  to  be  any 
within  these  walls  who  have  had  such  ample  opportu- 
nities of  judging  of  the  reverend  person  now  referred  to 
as  to  real  character  and  disposition.  And  his  ordainer 
can  with  truth  declare,  that  he  shall  discharge  the  duty 
on  which  he  is  soon  to  enter  with  the  most  sanguine 


*fc>' 


*  White's  Memoirs,  &c,  p.  277. 


208  MEMOIROF 

prospects  as  to  the  issue.  This  is  said  without  the 
remotest  idea  of  a  comparison  with  any  other,*  but 
merely  on  account  of  a  longer  and  more  intimate  ac- 
quaintance. And,  perhaps,  what  is  now  announced 
may  not  be  altogether  without  a  reference  to  self, 
although,  it  is  trusted,  not  operating  in  a  faulty  line. 
For  whether  it  be  the  infirmity  of  age,  advance  of 
years,  or,  as  it  is  rather  hoped,  an  interest  in  the  future 
prosperity  of  the  Church,  there  is  cherished  a  satisfac- 
tion in  the  recollection  of  counsels  formerly  given  to 
one  who  is  in  future  to  be  a  colleague ;  who  may,  in 
the  common  course  of  affairs,  be  expected  to  survive ; 
and  through  whom,  there  may  accordingly  be  hoped  to 
be  some  small  measure  of  usefulness  when  he  who 
gave  those  counsels  shall  be  no  more.'t 

The  hopes  expressed  by  his  venerable  conse- 
crator  in  this  affectionate  but  guarded  eulogium, 
it  may  be  here  added,  were  more  than  fulfilled 
in  the  subsequent  career  of  this  '  youthful  bro- 
ther ; '  fulfilled  in  all  but  that  one  point  in  which 
the  aged  speaker  was  no  doubt  naturally  the 
most  confident :  contrary  to  his  anticipation,  *  the 
youthful  brother'  has  gone  to  the  tomb  before 
him,  while  the  aged  patriarch  is  still  left  to 
guide  and  bless  a  second  and  a  third  genera- 
tion of  his  spiritual  children,  and  to  muse  over 
the  inscrutable  ways  of  Providence,  in  leaving 

*  The  Rev.  Alexander  V.  Griswold,  of  the  Eastern  Diocese, 
was  to  be  consecrated  at  the  same  time, 
t  Consecration  Sermon,  1811. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  209 

SO  long  the  aged  stock,  while  its  own  vigorous 
saplings,  one  after  another,  are  reft  away. 

His  feelings  upon  that  lamented  event,  the 
death  of  Bishop  Hobart,  it  may  be  here  permit- 
ted to  anticipate. 

'  During  my  long  life,  Sir,'  said  he,  addressing  a 
friend  in  New- York,  '  I  have  not  known  any  work  of 
death,  exterior  to  the  circle  of  my  own  family,  so  afflict- 
ive to  me  as  the  present.  I  have  known,  and  had 
occasion  to  remark,  the  character  of  my  now  deceased 
friend  from  his  very  early  boyhood,  and  can  truly  say 
that  I  have  never  known  any  man  on  whose  integrity 
and  conscientiousness  of  conduct  I  have  had  more  full 
reliance  than  on  his.  In  contemplating  what  must  be 
the  brevity  of  my  stay  in  this  vale  of  tears,  it  has  been  a 
gratification  to  me  to  expect  that  I  should  leave  behind 
me  a  brother  whose  past  zeal  and  labors  were  a  pledge 
that  he  would  not  cease  to  be  efficient  in  extending  our 
Church,  and  in  the  preservation  of  her  integrity.  But 
a  higher  disposal  has  forbidden  the  accomplishment  of 
my  wishes;  much,  as  I  verily  believe,  to  his  gain, 
although  greatly  to  our  loss  and  that  of  the  Church.'  * 

But  this  is  anticipation.  For  nineteen  years 
was  he  spared  to  the  Church  over  which  he 
was  now  placed. 

By  the  consecration  of  these  two  new  bishops, 
a  state  of  things  was  avoided,  full  of  anxiety  at 
least,  if  not  of  peril,  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal 

*  Schroeder's  Sermon,  p.  66. 
T  2 


210  MEMOIROF 

Church.  This  addition  of  numbers  contributed 
also  to  give  greater  weight  to  the  legislative  acts 
of  the  House  of  Bishops.  At  the  two  preceding 
General  Conventions  that  House  had  consisted 
but  of  two  members,  and  at  the  latter  of  these, 
Bishop  White,  anticipating  his  being  left  alone, 
had  canvassed,  as  he  states,*  in  his  own  mind 
whether  one  individual  could  be  considered  as 
constituting  *a  House.'  Fortunately,  this  moot 
question  he  was  not  called  upon  to  decide. 


*  THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPATE. 

There  have  been  consecrated  for  the  American  Church , 
to  this  date,  thirty-one  Bishops; — Bishop  Seabury,  of 
Connecticut,  by  Bishop  Kilgour,  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  Bishops  Petrie  and  Skinner  being  present 
and  assisting;  Bishops  White  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Provoost  of  New- York,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, [Moore,]  the  Archbishop  of  York,  [Markham,] 
the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  [Moss,]  and  the  Bishop 
of  Peterborough,  [Hinchliff,]  being  present  and  assist- 
ing ;  Bishop  Madison,  of  Virginia,  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Rochester 
being  present  and  assisting  ;  Bishop  Claggett  of  Mary- 
land, by  Bishop  Provoost,  Bishops  Seabury,  White,  and 
Madison  being  present  and  assisting ;  and  Bishops 
Smith,  of  South-Carolina,  Bass,  of  Massachusetts,  Jar- 
vis,  of  Connecticut,  Moore,  of  New- York,  Parker,  of 
Massachusetts,  Hobart,  of  New-York,  Griswold,  of  the 

*  White's  Memoira. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  211 

Eastern  Diocese,  Dehon,  of  South-Carolina,  Moore,  of 
Virginia,  Kemp,  of  Maryland,  Croes,  of  New-Jersey, 
Bowen,  of  South-Carolina,  Chase,  of  Ohio,  Brownell, 
of  Connecticut,  Ravenscroft,  of  North-Carolina,  Onder- 
donk,  of  Pennsylvania,  Meade,  of  Virginia,  Stone,  of 
Maryland,  Onderdonk,  of  New- York,  Ives,  of  North- 
Carolina,  Hopkins,  of  Vermont,  Smith,  of  Kentucky, 
M'llvaine,  of  Ohio,  Doane,  of  New-Jersey,  Otey,  of 
Tennessee,  and  Kemper,  Missionary  Bishop  for  Mis- 
souri and  Indiana,  all  by  Bishop  White.  Of  the  whole 
number  fourteen  have  died.  The  House  of  Bishops 
now  consists  of  the  seventeen  whose  names  follow,  in 
the  order  of  seniority.  Bishop  White,  Presiding 
Bishop,  now  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  Episcopate, 
Bishops  Griswold,  Moore,  Bowen,  Chase,  Brownell, 
H.  U.  Onderdonk,  Meade,  Stone,  B.  T.  Onderdonk, 
Ives,  Hopkins,  Smith,  M'llvaine,  Doane,  Otey,  and 
Kemper. '  * 


Missionary  Bishop. 


213  MEMOIR     OF 

CHAPTER    X. 
A.D.  ISn—uEt.  36. 

Controversies  before  and  after  liis  Election — Rev.  Cave  Jones — Char- 
acter— '  Solemn  Appeal ' — Result — Claim  of  Bishop  Provoost — How 
settled — Decision  of  the  Convention — Separation  of  Mr.  Jones  from 
Trinity  Church — His  latter  Years. 

It  is  painful  to  open  the  scene  of  Bishop 
Hobart's  apostolic  labors  with  a  picture  foreign 
to  their  holy  and  peaceful  spirit,  yet  so  it  is.  His 
election  had  not  been  unanimous ;  nor  could 
such  agreement  well  be  anticipated ;  for,  how- 
ever prominent  his  claims  on  the  score  of  talent, 
zeal,  and  useful  labors,  yet  on  that  of  age,  ex- 
perience, and  as  many  thought,  of  prudence, 
there  were  others  Avho  stood  before  him  :  he  was 
besides  but  an  assistant  minister,  and  not  the 
oldest  of  those  assistants,  in  the  parish  of  Trinity 
Church.  Many,  too,  mistaking  in  him  the  en- 
ergy of  duty  for  the  promptings  of  a  selfish  am- 
bition, predicted  danger  to  the  Church  from  the 
too  rapid  elevation  of  such  a  spirit. 

Under  the  best  of  circumstances,  the  path  to 
greatness  is  said  not  to  be  smooth  ;  but  with 
him  it  was  through  an  ordeal  as  of  fire  ;  amid  the 
war  and  strife  of  tongues  had  he  to  reach  that 
station  which  all  subsequently  acknowledged  he 
both  merited  and  adorned. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  213 

He  was  now  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his 
age,  and  prepared  to  enter  with  all  the  vigor  of 
that  early  but  ripe  manhood,  upon  his  arduous 
and  responsible  duties.  But  he  found  himself 
stopped,  as  it  were,  at  the  threshold  ;  thwarted 
by  an  opposition  in  which  doctrinal  opinions  and 
personal  hostility  were  mingled  up  with  vague 
and  wide-spread  doubts  as  to  the  validity  both  of 
the  principle  and  manner  of  his  consecration.* 

But  it  was  personal  jealousy  which  brought 
to  a  head  these  vague  doubts  and  suspicions, 
and  awakened  against  him  a  fierce  hostihty 
which  wounded  deeply  not  only  his  peace  but 
that  of  the  Church  at  large.  Far  be  it  from  the 
present  writer  willingly  to  rake  up  the  ashes  of 
personal  controversy,  or  wantonly  to  invade  that 
peace  which  death  has  sanctified  ;  but  not  only 
is  its  notice  essential  to  the  narrative  of  Bishop 
Hobart's  life  as  a  matter  of  fact,  but,  as  well 
observed  by  another,  such  notice  may  not  be 
'  without  its  bitter  and  wholesome  uses  to  those, 
who,  on  light  and  trivial  grounds,  may  hereafter 
be  disposed  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church. 'f 
But  to  understand  this,  it  is  necessary  to  look 

♦  This  refers  to  the  incidental  omission  by  the  consecrat- 
ing bishop  of  words  argued  by  his  opponents  to  be  essential, 
'  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  So.v,  and  of  the  Holt 
GriosT.'     (See  White's  Memoirs,  p.  287.) 

t  Berrian's  Narrative,  p.  128, 


214  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

back  to  the  circumstances  which  preceded  his 
election. 

Connected  with  Dr.  Hobart,  as  his  junior 
assistant  in  the  parish  of  Trinity  Church  was 
the  Rev.  Cave  Jones,  his  associate,  therefore, 
and  daily  companion  in  duty,  but  in  all  traits 
of  character  essentially  opposite.  To  take 
the  contrasted  picture  from  one  who  knew  both 
well,  though  personal  feeling  may  somewhat 
overcharge  it,  *  The  one  was  cold,  formal,  and 
stately  in  his  manners  ;  the  other  all  freedom, 
cordiality,  and  warmth.  The  one  was  sensitive, 
suspicious,  and  reserved  ;  the  other  communi- 
cative, frank,  and  confiding.  The  one  nurtured 
resentment,  kept  a  record  of  hasty  sallies  of 
feeling  and  unguarded  sayings,  and  magnified 
infirmities  into  glaring  faults ;  the  other  never 
received  an  offence  without  seeking  at  once  to 
have  it  explained,  in  order  that  it  might  be 
over  and  forgotten,  and  never  gave  it  without 
making  a  prompt  and  ample  atonement.'  * 

With  such  an  associate,  (though  we  would 
fain  hope  the  picture  darker  than  the  original,) 
that  there  should  have  been  but  little  sympathy 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  nor  that  offence  should 
sometimes  have  been  given,  when  not  meant, 
to  one  thus  ready  to  take  it.     But  with  most 

♦  Berrian's  Narrative,  p.  130. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  215 

men,  and  under  ordinary  circumstances,  these 
are  matters  which  are  forgotten  or  forgiven. 
That  they  were  not  so  in  the  present  case,  cer- 
tainly augurs  something  wrong  in  the  mind 
that  retained  a  remembrance  of  them.  It  was, 
doubtless,  an  envious  mind.  Mr.  Hobart's  ele- 
vation presented  itself  to  him  as  the  triumph  of 
a  rival,  and  under  the  influence  of  such  feelings, 
he  shaped  his  course.  While  the  election  was 
still  pending,  he  put  forth  what  he  termed  his 
*  Solemn  Appeal  to  the  Church,'  recapitulating 
at  large,  what  a  better  mind  would  have  buried 
in  oblivion,  those  petty  contentions  which  no 
man,  perhaps,  can  always  avoid,  but  which,  cer- 
tainly, few  men  are  less  likely  than  Mr.  Hobart 
to  have  provoked.  These  grievances,  detailed 
and  accumulated,  perhaps  distorted,  but  cer- 
tainly exaggerated,  very  often,  too,  wholly 
imaginary,  were  here  studiously  set  forth  by  a 
jealous  pen,  brought  before  the  tribunal  of  the 
public,  and  urged  upon  '  Churclimen '  as  con- 
clusive argument  against  Mr.  Hobart's  fit- 
ness for  the  high  office  of  Bishop.  It  was  an 
ordeal,  certainly,  which  nothing  could  have 
stood  save  '  pure  gold.'  But  Christian  sincerity 
is  that  pure  gold,  however  alloyed  it  may  be 
by  human  infirmity.  His  character  came  forth, 
therefore,  unstained  ;  the  blow  aimed  against 
him  fell  harmless,  or  rather,  the  weapon  cast  by 


216  MEMOIROF 

the  hand  of  jealousy  fell  back,  with  retributive 
justice,  on  the  head  of  him  who  hurled  it ;  be- 
coming, even  as  it  were,  a  millstone  about  his 
neck.     He  never  rose  under  the  recoil. 

But  the  evil  was  not  all  neutralized.  Though 
the  publication  failed  to  defeat  Mr.  Hobart's 
election,  it  yet  cast  a  firebrand  into  the  Chmch 
which  was  not  soon  extinguished. 

How  far  too,  it  broke  in  upon  the  internal 
peace  of  the  one  thus  maligned,  those  who  knew 
his  keen  sensibility,  can  best  judge.  Such 
wounds,  however,  while  he  felt  deeply,  he 
showed  not  openl}'^ :  their  influence  was  to  be 
seen  only  in  the  redoubled  energy  with  which  he 
devoted  himself  to  whatever  course  of  duty  had 
exposed  him  to  them.  Such  is  ever  the  nature 
of  strong  minds — that  which  with  weak  ones 
abates  ardor,  with  them  only  excites  it ;  danger 
and  reproach  and  persecution  are  but  stimulants, 
and  bring  forth  not  fear  but  confidence. 

To  this  personal  and  bitter  opposition  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Diocese,  as  already 
recorded,  gave  for  a  time  an  unfortunate  though 
temporary  credit ;  the  dubious  rights  of  the 
retired  Diocesan,  Bishop  Provoost,  being  called 
up  to  sanction  disobedience  to  the  authority  of 
the  new  assistant ;  altar  was  thus  raised  against 
altar,  and  for  a  time,  division,  if  not  scbism, 
seemed  to  be  impending  over  the  Diocese. 


BISHOP     H  OB  ART.  217 

This  ill-judged  claim  on  the  part  of  Bishop 
Provoost  was  made  public  through  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  him  to  the  Convention  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  (October  1812;)  in  which,  after 
stating  the  grounds  on  which  he  argued  his  act 
of  resignation,  made  ten  years  before,  to  be  in- 
valid, he  goes  on  to  add ; — 

'  I  think  it  my  duty  to  inform  you,  that 
though  it  has  not  pleased  God  to  bless  me  with 
health  that  will  enable  me  to  discharge  all  the 
duties  of  a  diocesan,  and  for  that  reason  I 
cannot  now  attend  the  Convention,  yet  I  am 
ready  to  act  in  deference  to  the  resolution* 
above  mentioned,  and  to  concur  in  any  regu- 
lations which  expediency  may  dictate  to  the 
Church ;  without  which  concurrence,  I  am, 
after  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Bishops, 
bound  to  consider  every  Episcopal  act  as  unau- 
thorized.' 

To  this  communication  was  attached  his  sig- 
nature, as  *  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  State  of  New- York,  and  Diocesan 
of  the  same.' 

The  record  of  such  an  act  of  weakness  on  the 
part  of  one  who  should  be  wise  as  well  as  good, 
is,  to  a  Churchman,  painful,  but  it  affords  per- 
haps a  needful  lesson  ;  first,  to  the  higher  coun- 

♦  Of  the  House  of  Bishops. 
U 


218  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

cils  of  our  Church,  that  they  guard,  in  future, 
against  all  such  anomalies  in  legislation  ;  and, 
secondly,  to  our  Bishops,  individually,  teaching 
them  to  labor  and  to  die  in  the  duties  of  tlieir  high 
vocation,  lest,  haply,  they  add  another  instance 
to  the  one  here  recorded,  of  the  feebleness  of 
age  being  abused  to  the  purposes  of  personal 
ambition,  intrigue,  or  schism. 

The  answer,  on  the  part  of  the  Convention, 
is  contained  in  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions,  a  copy  of  which  was  forwarded  to 
all  the  Bishops  of  the  Church.  As  settling  an 
important  principle  in  our  Church  polity,  and 
bearing  so  intimately  on  tiie  official  rights  of 
Bishop  Hobart,  they  are  herewith  subjoined. 

'  Whereas  by  the  Constitution  of  this  Church  the 
right  of  electing  the  Bishop  thereof  is  vested  in,  and 
appertains  to  the  Convention  of  this  State :  and  whereas 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  as  the  Diocesan  thereof  may  be  resigned,  al- 
though the  spiritual  character  or  order  of  the  Bishop  is 
indelible ;  and  such  resignation,  when  the  sanne  is  ac- 
cepted by  the  Convention,  creates  a  vacancy  in  the  office 
of  Diocesan  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  State :  and  whereas  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Pro- 
voost,  D.  D.,  being  then  the  Diocesan  Bishop  of  the 
said  Church  in  this  State,  did,  on  the  third  day  of  Septem- 
ber, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  one,  resign  his  Episcopal  jurisdiction  of  this  Dio- 
cese to  the  Convention  of  the  said  Church  in  this  State ; 


BISHOP     HOBART.  219 

and  the  said  Convention  did  on  the  next  day  accept  the 
said  resignation,  and  on  the  following  day  proceeded  to 
the  choice,  by  ballot,  of  a  person  to  succeed  the  said 
Diocesan  Bishop ;  and  thereupon  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Moore,  D.  D.,  was  unanimously  chosen  by  the  Clergy 
and  Laity,  and  received  from  them,  as  Bishop  elect  of 
this  Church,  the  testimonial  required  by  the  Canon  of 
the  General  Convention  :  And  whereas  the  said  Benja- 
min Moore  was,  on  the  eleventh  day  of  the  said  month 
of  September,  rightly  and  canonically  consecrated  into 
the  office  of  Bishop  of  the  said  Church,  and  from  that 
time  hath  exercised  the  powers  and  jurisdiction  of  Dio- 
cesan Bishop  in  this  State :  And  whereas  this  Conven- 
tion hath  been  given  to  understand  that  doubts  have 
been  entertained  whether  the  office  and  jurisdiction  of 
Diocesan  Bishop  became  vacant  by  the  said  resignation 
and  acceptance  thereof,  and  whether  the  said  Benjamin 
Moore  was  of  right  the  Diocesan  Bishop  of  the  said 
Church  in  this  State  by  virtue  of  the  election  and  con- 
secration herein  before  mentioned  :  And  whereas  this 
Convention  hath  further  understood  that  since  the  last 
Convention  the  said  Bishop  Provoost  hath  assumed, 
and  by  his  letter  this  day  read  in  Convention  does  claim, 
the  title  and  character  of  Diocesan  Bishop  : — Now, 
therefore,  in  order  to  obviate  the  said  doubts,  and  with 
a  view  to  restore  and  preserve  the  peace  and  order  of 
the  Church,  this  Convention  doth  hereby  resolve  and 
declare, 

That  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Provoost,  from  and 
immediately  after  the  acceptance  of  his  resignation  by 
the  Convention  of  the  Church  in  this  State,  ceased  to  be 
the  Diocesan  Bishop  thereof,  and  could  no  longer  right- 
fully exercise  the  functions  or  jurisdiction  appertaining  to 
that  office ;  that  having  ceased  to  be  the  Diocesan  Bishop 


220  MEMOIROF 

as  aforesaid,  he  could  neither  resume,  nor  be  restored  to 
that  character  by  any  act  of  his  own  or  of  the  General 
Convention,  or  either  of  its  Houses,  without  the  consent 
and  participation  of  the  said  State  Convention,  which 
consent  and  participation  the  said  Bishop  Provoost  has 
not  obtained ;  and  that  his  claim  to  such  character  is 
therefore  unfounded. 

And  further  this  Convention  doth  declare  and  resolve, 
that  the  spiritual  order  of  Bishop  having  been  canoni- 
cally  conferred  upon  the  said  Benjamin  Moore,  he 
became  thereby,  in  consequence  of  the  said  previous 
election,  ipso  facto,  and  of  right,  the  Diocesan  Bishop  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  State ;  and  as 
such,  well  entitled  to  all  the  jurisdiction  and  pre- 
eminence belonging  to  that  office,  and  which  have 
been,  and  may  be,  canonically  exercised  by  him  person- 
ally, or  through  his  coadjutor,  in  the  said  character. 

And  this  Convention,  in  their  own  names,  and  for  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  State,  do  hereby 
solemnly  declare  and  acknowledge  the  said  Benjamin 
Moore,  and  no  other  person,  to  be  their  true  and  lawful 
Diocesan  Bishop ;  and  that  respect  and  obedience  ought 
of  right  to  be  paid  to  him  as  such.'  * 

In  this  emergency  Bishop  Hobait  was  found 
wanting  neither  to  himself  nor  to  the  office  he 
had  undertaken.  Personal  charges  he  refuted, 
if  refutation  they  needed,  by  facts  and  testi- 
mony ;  his  official  rights  lie  vindicated,  by 
argument   so  conclusive,   as  for  ever  to   settle 

•  Journal  of  Convention,  1812,  pp.  12,  13. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  221 

the  question,  at  least,  with  all  disinterested 
reasoners.  The  late  Brockholst  Livingston, 
than  whom  few  men  were  more  competent 
judges  of  acute  reasoning,  stated  to  the  writer, 
that  Bishop  Hobart's  argument  had  completely 
converted  him  ;  that  one  of  the  most  lucid 
pieces  of  reasoning  he  had  ever  met  with  was 
his  exposition  of  the  dividing  lines  of  spiritual 
authority  and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction. 

The  practical  question,  however,  was  settled, 
where  alone  it  could  be  settled,  by  the  Conven- 
tion of  the  Diocese,  and,  as  before  hinted,  to 
the  ruin,  in  public  opinion,  of  the  unhappy  indi- 
vidual by  whom  the  contest  had  been  begun  and 
mainly  carried  on.  A  separation  was  called  for 
by  Trinity  parish,  with  which  Mr.  Jones  was  con- 
nected as  assistant  minister,  referees  agreed  upon, 
and  an  award  made.  This  award,  after  many 
delays  on  his  part,  both  legal  and  personal,  he 
at  length  absolutely  refused  to  abide  by.  The 
power  of  suspension  from  the  ministry  was  then 
called  in  as  a  last  resort,  but  upon  his  eventual, 
though  tardy  compliance,  removed. 

His  closing  years  were  passed  as  an  instructer 
of  youth  and  chaplain  in  the  navy,  laboring  in 
both  vocations  so  faithfully  and  successfully,  as 
to  make  Churchmen  willing,  not  only  to  forgive, 
but,  what  was  harder,  to  forget  the  past.     Now 

U8 


222  MEMOIROP 

that  the  grave  has  closed  over  the  memory  of 
all  mjuries,  whether  given  or  received,  let  the 
story  stand  as  an  abiding  lesson  of  prudence 
and  of  peace,  as  a  fresh  persuasive  to  that  grace 
of  Christian  charity,  which,  while  binding  upon 
all,  is  yet  peculiarly  incumbent  npon  those  who 
are  called  to  be  unto  their  flock  ensamples  of 
every  virtue. 


BISHOP     HOBAET.  223 

CHAPTER  XL 
A.  D.  1811— ^^  36. 

Annoyances  of  anonymous  Critics — Letter  to  the  Author — Letter  from 
Dr.  Kollock — His  subsequent  History — General  Character  of  Episco- 
pate from  1813 — Amount  and  Variety  of  Duties — Pastoral  Charge 

Letter  to  a  Member  of  his  Church — Episcopal  Charge — Interest  taken 
in  the  Missionaries — Anecdote — Kindness  of  Heart — Rev.  Mr.  Buck- 
ley— Letter  in  relation  to  the  Scheme  of  a  new  religious  Magazine. 

The  first  two  years  of  Bishop  Hobart's  Epis- 
copate were,  as  may  well  be  imagined  frojn  the 
above  narrative,  years  of  trial  and  turmoil ; 
hostility,  personal  as  well  as  official,  meeting 
him  even  in  his  nearest  circles.  Nor  was  the 
wel'l-meant  kindness  of  friends  always  without 
its  annoyance.  Among  the  minor  objections 
made  to  him  as  Bishop,  personal  appearance 
and  manners  had  not  been  forgotten.  With  a 
view  to  the  removal  of  this  stumbling-block,  it 
was  more  than  once  recommended  to  him,  by 
friends  more  zealous  than  wise,  to  throw  off  his 
old  familiar  manner  and  assume  more  dignity 
and  reserve.  His  answer  to  one  influential 
friend  is  remembered,  and  is  what  became  him, 
and  might  have  been  expected  from  him  ; — 
*  Undignified,'  said  he,  '  I  must  ever  be,  if  I  can- 
not be  otherwise  except  by  doing  violence  to 
my  feelings  and  my  nature.'     But  the  form  iu 


224  MEMOIROF 

which  such  advice  generally  came  was  that  of 
anonymous  letters,  numbers  of  which  have  come 
into  the  author's  hands,  casually  preserved 
among  the  Bishop's  papers.  From  among  these 
the  following  is  selected,  not  onl}^  to  give  an  idea 
of  the  variety  of  petty  annoyances  to  which  he 
was  subjected,  but  also  as  touching  a  subject 
where  it  has  been  already  acknowledged  the 
critics  had  *  some  ground  to  stand  upon.' 

TO  Bishop  hobart. 

'  An  Episcopalian,  ardently  devoted  to  the  Bishop, 
and  an  admirer  of  his  ministrations,  yet  wishing  to 
have  every  thing  perfect  from  him,  and  calculated  to 
serve  for  an  example  in  his  Church,  relies  on  the  kind- 
ness and  acknowledged  candor  of  his  pastor,  to  excuse 
him,  if  he  points  out  some  few  inaccuracies,  as  he  con- 
siders them,  in  his  phraseology  or  pronunciation. 

Dezign  and  dizzemble,  (like  every  other  minister  in 
the  Church.) 

The  River  Jurdan. 

Gethered  together. 

Baptism  and  schism,  in  three  and  two  syllables,  bap- 
tizum  and  schizum. 

Noo,  doo,  dooty,  for  new,  due,  duty ;  for  join  and  en- 
join, jyne  and  enjyne  ;  sacrifice,  it  is  believed,  should  be 
sacrifice  ;  and  sovereign,  suvrin  ;  rational,  rational. 

"  We  humbly  beseech  thee  with  thy  favor" — 

The  writer  contends  (as,  indeed,  is  adopted  by  one  or 
two  of  our  clergy)  that  it  should  be  read,  "those  evils 
which  the  craft  and  subtlety  of  the  devil,  or  man  work- 
eth  against  us  " — meaning,  that  the  craft  and  subtlety 


BISHOP     HOBART.  225 

should  be  applied  to  the  devil,  (these  being,  perhaps, 
pre-eminently  his  characteristics,)  and  the  other  evils 
those  (which)  man  worketh  against  us. 

The  Bishop  has /of  a  good  fight  at  Ephesus,  but  has 
not  yet  quite  gotten  himself  the  victory. 
All  things  vis-able  and  invis-able. 

Cum  gratia  recipiatur, 

Laicus.' 

The  following  note  to  the  author,  who  was 
then  residing  at  his  quiet  country  parish  of  Hyde 
Park,  shows  how  far  these  things  moved  him. 

TO  THE  REV.  J.  MoV. 

'  New '  York,  November  9,  1811. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

It  gives  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  see  you  so 
seriously  engaged  in  the  labors  of  your  ministry.  I 
almost  envy  you  your  happy  retirement ;  with  sufficient 
calls  of  duty  to  admit  of  your  usefulness,  and  none  of 
those  perplexing  cares  that  encroach  on  the  plans  of 
study  and  the  joys  of  domestic  life.  A  clergyman,  use- 
fully situated  as  you  are,  surrounded  by  all  his  friends, 
and  with  all  the  pleasures  of  rural  life,  has  many  things 
for  which  to  be  thankful.  Perhaps,  hereafter,  the  calls 
of  duty  may  lead  you  to  more  public  scenes,  and  then,  I 
think,  if  you  should  feel  as  I  do,  you  will  more  fully 
appreciate  your  present  enjoyments. 

I  am  very  sincerely  yours, 

J.  H.  HoBART.' 

The  following  is  the  last  letter  found  from  an 
early    friend,    whose    subsequent    course   was 


226  MEMOIR     OF 

marked  by  trouble  and  error  certainly  not  trace- 
able to  the  intimacy  this  narrative  commemo- 
rates. 

-       FROM  REV.  DR.  KOLLOCK. 

'  Savannah,  1811. 
My  dear  Hobart, 

It  is  late  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  my  sermons 

are  not  finished  for  to-morrow,  yet  I  cannot  permit  the 

Juno,  which  sails  in  the  morning,  to  depart  without  a 

few  lines  to  assure  you  that  neither  interposing  seas 

nor  difference  of  communion  can  diminish  my  love  and 

esteem  for  you.     Wherever  my  lot  may  be  cast  during 

the  years  I  have  to  spend  on  earth,  my  heart  shall  ever 

be  warmed  with  affection  to  you,  and  till  its  last  throb, 

I  shall  not  cease  to  regard  you  as  a  faithful,  tender,  and 

long-tried  friend. 

Since  my  return  I  have  been  unusually  occupied.  I 
arrived  in  the  height  of  sickness,  and  for  some  time 
was  standing  at  the  couches  of  the  dying,  and  over  the 
graves  of  the  dead.  How  deeply  ought  such  scenes  to 
teach  us  to  look  for  a  more  durable  portion  than  this 
world  can  give ! 

My  health  has  never  been  better  than  since  my 
arrival,  and  I  hope  soon  to  acquire  again  the  habits  of  a 
student.  I  have  become  a  true  Presbyterian  in  my  re- 
gimen. This  produces  such  a  lightness  of  body,  and 
vigor  of  mind,  that  I  shall  persevere  in  it  during  my  life. 

I  have  begun  to  my  people  the  life  of  our  Saviour  in 
the  form  of  sermons.  I  hope  the  study  and  contempla- 
tion of  this  "  great  exemplar  "  will  not  be  lost  upon  my- 
self, and  will  be  useful  to  my  flock.  I  shall  devote  all 
my  powers  to  this  course  of  sermons.  They  embrace 
subjects  which  deserve  to  engross  all  the  energies  of  the 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  227 

mind.  If  you  meet  with  any  new  works  that  are  really 
good,  and  that  will  assist  me,  be  so  kind  as  to  purchase 
them  for  me  ;  and  also,  (if  you  are  not  using  it,  and  if 
you  do  not  feel  any  apprehension  of  its  being  lost  on  so 
long  a  voyage,)  lend  me  Bishop  Taylor's  Great  Exem- 
plar.    It  shall  be  carefully  used  and  safely  returned. 

The  pews  of  my  church  were  rented  about  a  fort- 
night since,  at  public  auction,  (which  has  always  been 
the  custom  here,)  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  rents 
amounted  to  seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  dollars ;  a  strong  proof  that  the  people  are  not 
indifferent  to  the  public  ordinances  of  religion.  We 
want  more  churches  here  very  much,  and  I  find,  with 
great  delight,  that  the  vestry  of  the  unfinished  Episcopal 
church  have  at  last  resolved  to  complete  it.  Next  year 
they  intend  to  have  it  ready  for  public  worship,  when 
they  intend  sending  on  a  call  to  Mr.  Beasley.  Were 
he  with  me,  I  should  indeed  be  happy. 

How  proceeds  the  "  helium  Episcopale  ? "  have  any 
new  champions  appeared  on  either  side  ?  Write  me 
particularly  concerning  the  progress  of  the  controversy, 
though  it  does  not  appear  to  me  of  the  same  conse- 
quence as  to  you,  yet  I  must  be  interested  wherever  you 
are  one  of  the  combatants. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Hobart,  it  is  so  dark  that  I  cannot  see 
to  proceed. 

Your  sincere  friend, 

H.  KOLLOCK.' 

The  subsequent  trouble  above  alluded  to  in 
relation  to  this  friend  was  his  suspension  from  the 
ministerial  ofRce  by  the  Presbytery  to  whicli  he 
belonged,  grounded  upon  his  declaring  himself 


238  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

independent  of  their  authority.  In  the  month  of 
July,  1813,  he  had  addressed,  it  seems,  to  the 
Moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of  Harmony,  the 
following  letter. 

'Dear  Sir, 

Educated  in  a  part  of  the  country  where  there  was 
no  dispute  between  Presbyterians  and  Independents,  I 
had  taken  it  for  granted  that  Presbyterianism  was 
plainly  founded  on  the  word  of  God,  and  supported  by 
primitive  antiquity.  In  order  to  satisfy  the  doubts  of 
some  of  my  people,  I  entered  into  an  examination  of  this 
question.  The  result  of  my  inquiries  was  contrary  to 
my  expectation.  I  have  in  vain  sought  for  a  scriptural 
foundation  for  that  form  of  government  to  which  I  once 
subscribed  ex  ajiimo,  and,  under  my  present  views,  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  withdraw,  and  I  hereby  do  vjithdrmo 
from  the  Preshyterial  government.' 

Upon  this  formal  act  of  renunciation  the 
Presbytery  proceeded,  very  properly,  to  depose 
him  from  all  those  ministerial  functions,  the 
source  of  which  he  had  thus  denied  and  reject- 
ed. The  result  was  his  becoming  the  pastor  of 
an  independent  Presbyterian  church,  which 
thus  rebutted  by  solemn  argument,  conclu- 
sive too  against  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed, 
the  principle  maintained  by  the  Presbytery, 
'  that  the  same  power  that  ordains  has  a  right 
to  depose  ; '  and  we  commend  it  to  the  serious 
reflection  of  such  as  are  inclined  to  cast  off  an 
order  of  apostolic  succession  and  government  in 


BISHOP     HOBART. 


229 


the  ministry.  '  Is  it  possible,'  say  they,  '  they 
did  not  know  that  Luther,  and  Zuinghus,  and 
Cranmer,  and  Knox,  and  a  host  of  other  wor- 
thies, were  admitted  to  the  ministry  in  the 
Papal  Church,  were  excommunicated  by  the 
same  Church,  and  yet,  that  the  validity  of  their 
ministry  was  never  doubted  but  by  Papists  1 ' 
Upon  the  doctrine  of  parity  in  the  ministry  this 
is  unanswerable  ;  independence  is  the  necessary 
result  of  equality.  It  is  reasoning-  that  can  be 
answered  only  by  the  maintainers  of  an  organ- 
ized Church  and  ministry.  Had  Mr.  Hobart's 
friend  but  rightly  recognised  the  first  great  truth, 
— Christ  hath  established  a  visible  Church — 
then  the  inquiry.  Where  is  it  ?  would  doubtless 
have  led  him  to  a  better  haven  than  the  restless 
waves  of  '  Independency.'  Had  the  work  he 
borrowed  from  his  friend  been  '  Hooker,'  instead 
of  '  Taylor,'  such  would  probably  have  been  his 
conclusion.  The  above  particulars  of  his  his- 
tory are  drawn  from  a  communication  contain- 
ing them  addressed  by  Dr.  Kollock  to  Bishop 
Hobart ;  it  was  found  among  his  papers,  simply 
endorsed,  but  without  either  note  of  answer  or 
comment.  It  is  due,  however,  to  Dr.  Kollock's 
memory  to  add,  that  the  language  of  those  who 
knew  him  best,  exhibit  him  as  useful  and  highly 
beloved.  In  a  letter  of  the  congregation  they 
say ;    *  We    humbly    yet    sincerely   supplicate 


X 


230  MEMOIROF 

Almighty  God,  that  he  will  be  pleased  in  much 
mercy,  long  to  preserve  a  life  eminently  useful  to 
the  Church  at  large,  and  the  source  of  great  and 
unspeakable  comforts  and  consolations  to  the  in- 
dividuals of  this  congregation  in  particular. 


From  this  period  (1813)  Bishop  Hobart's 
performance  of  duty  assumes  a  new  aspect ; 
though  but  assistant  in  name,  the  diocesan 
duties  were  wholly  his  own,  both  in  labor 
and  responsibility.  Bishop  Moore's  state  of 
health  precluded  him  from  aiding  in  the  one, 
his  good  sense,  and  general  confidence  in  his 
assistant,  withheld  him  from  interfering  in  the 
other,  though  more  than  once  urged  to  do  so 
by  those  who  valued  practical  trifles  above 
Christian  peace  and  harmony. 

The  remainder  of  Bishop  Hobart's  life,  to 
take  a  bird's-eye  glance  of  what  lies  before  us, 
was  spent  in  the  high  duties  upon  which  he  now 
entered.  It  was  a  life  happy  to  himself,  and 
blessed  to  the  Church  over  which  he  presided  : 
it  was  one,  too,  though  that  may  seem  needless 
to  add,  of  uninterrupted  labor,  both  of  mind  and 
body  :  up  to  the  period  of  his  visit  to  Europe,  to 
which  ill  health  drove  him,  after  twelve  years  of 
toil,  we  find  scarce  a  moment's  cessation  from  the 
calls  of  duty,  official,  professional,  and  personal. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  231 

His  new  duties  were  superadded  to  his  old  : 
as  a  parish  minister  of  Trinity  Church,  he  was 
still  bound  to,  and  still  performed  his  full  share 
of  parochial  labor  in  its  three  congregations  and 
churches,  and  as  rector  of  the  parish,  to  which 
station  he  was  called  on  the  resignation  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Beach,  in  1812,  though  nominally 
but  *  assistant,'  new  cares  and  responsibilities 
came  upon  him,  and  those  neither  few  nor  light. 
Nor  were  these  pluralities  sinecures  :  to  a  mind 
like  his,  station  never  can  be  without  toil ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  labored  in  each  as  if  it  were  his 
sole  vocation. 

But  we  \vill  here  use  the  words  of  one  who 
speaks  from  personal  knowledge  : 

'  In  Trinity  Church,  though  both  bishop  and  rector, 
he  claimed  no  exemption  from  any  of  them  on  ac- 
count of  his  multiplied  engagements,  but  preached 
as  regularly  in  his  course  as  the  ministers  who  were 
associated  with  him,  and  attended  with  the  same  cheer- 
fulness to  every  parochial  call.  Indeed,  he  seldom 
availed  himself  of  those  opportunities  of  leisure  which, 
it  might  have  seemed,  he  needed,  but  took  more  pleasure 
in  giving  relief  to  others  than  in  enjoying  it  himself.  I 
have  especial  reasons  for  a  grateful  recollection  of  his 
kindness  in  this  respect,  which  was  so  often  shown  to 
me  during  a  season  of  declining  health,  as  to  lighten 
labors  which  would  otherwise  have  been  oppressive.'  * 

♦  Dr,  Berrian's  Memoir,  p.  148. 


232  ]M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

To  the  parish  of  Trinity  his  services  were 
invaluable.  Besides  what  was  external,  in  its 
spiritual  care  his  labors  became  more  abundant, 
and  their  results  more  evident  every  year  he  was 
connected  with  it.  His  appearance  in  the  pulpit 
was  ever  the  signal  for  redoubled  attention,  an 
attention  well  repaid  by  a  flow  of  earnest,  im- 
passioned eloquence  which  was  now  exalted  in 
fervor  in  proportion  as  he  felt  higher  responsi- 
bilities resting  upon  him. 

Among  the  evidences  of  that  care  and  watch- 
fulness, which,  however  busy,  seemed  to  over- 
look  nothing  that  bore  the  aspect  of  duty,  the 
following  letter  may  be  taken  : 

'  New -York,  March  19,  1813. 
Madam, 

I  have  no  doubt  that  you  do  not  suppose  me  igno- 
rant of  your  disposition  to  leave  our  Church,  and  to  join 
the  communion  of  another.  I  have  made  some  unsuc- 
cessful efforts  to  see  you,  in  order  to  converse  with  you 
on  this  subject,  and  should  have  persevered  in  my 
intention,  if  I  had  not  supposed  that  such  an  interview 
would  not  be  agreeable  to  you.  Considering,  however, 
my  station  in  the  Church,  and  the  relation  which  I  bear 
to  you  as  a  minister  of  the  congregation  to  which  you 
belong,  I  hope  you  will  not  deem  it  a  violation  of  esteem 
and  respect,  if  I  earnestly  entreat  you  to  review  very 
seriously  the  motives  which  induce  you  to  forsake  the 

*  Berrian,  pp.  149-152. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  233 

Church  which  has  nurtured  you,  and  in  which  your 
first  vows  were  made  to  God.  To  forsake  a  Church 
sound  in  its  doctrine,  apostolic  and  valid  in  its  ministry, 
and  primitive,  pure,  and  evangelical  in  its  worship,  can 
never  be  justifiable.  I  make  no  invidious  comparisons 
of  our  Church  with  others ;  but  certainly,  whatever 
may  be  the  imperfections  of  the  preaching  of  its  minis- 
ters, its  doctrines  are  sound  and  scriptural,  and  its  min- 
istry apostolic  ;  and  it  possesses  a  blessing  which  cannot 
be  too  highly  prized — a  pure,  primitive,  and  evangelical 
form  of  worship.  In  this  Church  Providence  has  cast 
your  lot.  To  leave  it  because  you  think  you  derive 
more  edification  from  the  preaching  of  others,  believe 
me,  Madam,  can  be  in  no  respect  justifiable.  Our  com- 
munion with  the  divine  Head  of  the  Church  is  to  be 
kept  up  principally  by  a  participation  in  the  ordinances 
and  the  worship  of  the  Church,  and  not  merely  by 
attendance  on  preaching.  If  any  person  does  not  derive 
edification  from  the  service  of  our  Church,  in  every  part 
of  which  Jesus  Christ  and  his  merits  and  grace  are 
set  forth  as  our  only  hope  and  strength,  the  fault  must 
be  in  himself,  and  not  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  or 
in  its  ministers. 

But  this  plea  of  greater  edification  from  the  preaching 
of  others,  makes  the  feelings  of  each  individual,  and  not 
his  judgment — the  performance  of  the  minister,  and  not 
the  nature  of  the  Church — the  standard  by  which  he 
determines  with  what  Church  he  shall  commune.  A 
Church  may  be  very  unsound  and  erroneous  in  its 
doctrine,  the  constitution  of  its  ministry,  and  the  mode 
of  its  worship ;  and  yet,  if  a  person  thinks  he  is  edified 
by  the  preaching  of  a  minister  of  that  Church,  accord- 
ing to  this  plea  of  edification,  he  is-justifiable  in  joining 
X  2 


234  MEMOIROF 

it.  This  same  plea  of  edification  may,  therefore,  lead 
a  person  to  attach  himself  to  any  Church  in  which  his 
feelings  happen  to  be  interested.  I  have  known  it  urged 
as  a  reason  for  joining  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Our  Church  certainly  makes  the  fullest  provision  for 
the  spiritual  wants  of  her  members ;  and  would  they 
but  humbly,  diligently,  and  faithfully  unite  in  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Church  whenever  there  is  an  opportunity, 
they  would  not  fail  of  being  advanced  in  the  Christian 
life,  and  prepared  for  heaven. 

Let  me,  then,  earnestly  and  respectfully  ask  you, 
Madam,  if  you  are  able  to  prove  that  the  Church  in 
which  Providence  has  placed  you  is  unscriptural  in 
doctrine — that  its  ministry  is  not  valid — or  that  its  mode 
of  worship  is  not  primitive  and  evangelical  ?  Unless 
you  are  satisfied  that  this  is  the  case,  believe  me,  and 
pardon  my  plainness,  in  leaving  that  Church,  you  will 
discover  to  the  world  a  changeableness  which  will  cause 
your  "  good  to  be  evil  spoken  of ; "  and  you  will  be 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  schism,  which,  however  it  may  be 
considered  by  the  world,  an  inspired  Apostle  considered 
as  a  "  deadly  sin." 

And,  Madam,  let  me  also  respectfully  remind  you  that 
even  if  you  were  justifiable  in  leaving  our  Church,  you 
would  not  be  correct  in  joining  any  other  until  you  had 
read  its  confession  of  faith,  and  ascertained  that  all  its 
doctrines,  as  well  as  its  ministry  and  mode  of  worship, 
were  scriptural,  apostolic,  and  primitive. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  discharge  my  conscience  of 
the  guilt,  which,  I  conceive,  will  be  incurred  in  forsak- 
ing the  communion  of  our  Church ;  and  believe  me, 
that  all  my  remarks  have  been  directed  by  sincere 
esteem  and  respect  for  you.     On  this  subject  you  and  I 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  ART.  235 

will  both  have  to  render  an  account  to  our  Master  in 
heaven. 

To  his  grace  and  blessing  I  commend  you. 
I  remain,  very  sincerely, 

Your  friend  and  brother, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

As  head  of  the  Church,  the  ecclesiastical 
concerns  of  the  Diocese  all  rested  upon  him, 
requiring  not  only  much  thought,  and  labor, 
and  freedom  of  access  at  all  hours,  but  the 
maintenance  of  a  most  burthensome  correspond- 
ence relating  to  the  needs  of  existing  churches, 
the  demand  and  application  for  new  ones,  the 
wants  and  the  wishes  of  every  clergyman  in 
his  Diocese,  every  candidate,  and  every  mission- 
ary. Of  all  these,  their  poverty^,  their  troubles, 
their  sorrows,  were  poured  out  upon  him,  by 
word  and  by  letter,  in  a  fulness  of  filial  confi- 
dence, not  only  that  he  would,  but  that  he  could 
help  them  ;  and  all  this  with  a  minuteness 
of  detail,  as  if  he  had  no  other  business  in  life 
than  to  labor  at  redressing  them.  Nor  were 
they  far  mistaken  ;  for  as  there  was  nothing 
he  would  not  do  for  them,  so  were  there  few 
things  that  with  his  energy  and  influence  he 
could  not. 

What,  for  instance,  might  not  be  expected 
from  the  heart  of  one,  of  whom  such  a  circum- 
stance as  the  following  may  be  remembered. 


•226  M  E  M  O  I  U     OF 

Hearing  that,  one  of  his  clergy,  *  a  man  of  plain 
understanding,  but  genuine  worth,  in  a  country 
parish  not  far  distant  from  the  city,  was  esteemed 
dano^erously  ill,  and  had  no  Christian  friend  near 
him,  he  immediately  procured  a  conveyance  to 
him,  administered  with  his  own  hands  the  last 
offices  of  religion,  and  leaving  the  chamber  of 
his  dying  brother,  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  and 
was,  as  described  by  the  friend  who  accompanied 
him,  '  literally  convulsed,  for  a  time,  by  the  vio- 
lence of  his  grief.' 

To  his  biographer  it  has  been  full  payment  for 
the  labor  of  looking  over  the  voluminous  official 
correspondence  of  Bishop  Hobart  to  see  the  evi- 
dences of  the  unbounded  love  and  reposing  con- 
fidence every  where  placed  in  him.  One  from  a 
distant  diocese  thus  begins,  '  I  feel  assured,  that, 
amidst  your  ever-pressing  duties,  you  will  gladly 
receive  a  few  lines  from  one  who  most  sincerely 
esteems,  nay,  loves  you.'  From  his  own  diocese, 
it  was  always  like  children  calling  upon  a  fa- 
ther ;  '  I  am  aware,'  says  one,  '  that  your  time 
is  fully  occupied,  yet  I  feel  that  I  am  writing  to 
one  who,  if  need  requires,  is  willing  to  render 
me  a  favor.'  '  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  trouble 
you,'  says  another,  '  but  have  the  less  hesitation 
to  do  so,  from  your  known  kindness  to  others ;' 

•  Rev.  Mr.  Bulkley,  of  Flushing,  (L.  1.) 


B  I  S  II  0  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  237 

and  if  such  was  their  trust  in  his  personal  kind- 
ness, much  more  confident  were  they  when  it 
concerned  the  interests  of  the  Church.  The 
following',  though  somewhat  grandiloquent,  is 
their  usual  tone  :  *  When  a  church  is  languish- 
ing and  destitute,  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd, 
in  danger  of  being  scattered  abroad,  to  whom 
shall  they  look  on  earth  for  advice  and  assistance 
but  to  their  head,'  &c. 

When  we  add  to  these  calls  upon  his  time  all 
the  Church  societies,  of  each  of  which  he  was 
the  active  head,  and  the  labors  of  the  peii  and 
press,  which  were  so  unintermitted  that  by  most 
men  they  w^ould  have  been  deemed  sufficient 
toil — when  we  take  all  these  into  considera- 
tion, it  certainly  exhibits  a  picture  of  energetic 
life  and  laborious  duty,  such  as  few  men  could 
have  borne,  and  fewer  still  would  have  been 
willing  to  undertake,  but  which  was  by  Bishop 
Hobart  both  undertaken  and  borne  with  a  reso- 
lution that  never  faltered,  a  cheerful  spirit  that 
never  sunk  under  difficulties,  and  a  temper  of 
warm-hearted  kindness  which  ingratitude  could 
not  make  cold,  nor  hostility  ever  embitter. 

In  his  more  immediate  episcopal  duties,  as 
Bishop  Hobart  could  receive  no  aid,  so  he  seemed 
far  from  needing  any, — it  was  to  him  a  labor  of 
love  ;  and  the  discomforts  and  even  perils  of  his 
far  journeyings  into  the  new  settlements  of  the 


238  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

diocese  only  seemed  to  inspire  the  spirit  of  a 
missionary,  as  they  often  called  him,  to  his  pri- 
vations and  toils.  What  constituted  his  reward 
for  these  labors  may  be  judged  of  by  the  tone  in 
which  he  narrated  them.  In  his  address  to  the 
Convention  of  1813,  after  detaihng  the  particu- 
lars of  his  visitation,  he  proceeds  : 

'  In  many  other  places,  congregations,  who  regularly 
assemble  for  worship,  are  prevented  from  erecting 
churches  by  the  slenderness  of  their  means.  I  have 
sometimes,  however,  witnessed  in  the  humble  dwelling, 
or  in  the  log  school-house,  the  service  of  our  Church 
celebrated  by  the  people  with  a  fervor  and  propriety 
not  always  apparent  in  the  splendid  edifice.  We  cannot 
doubt  that  this  service  Avas  acceptable  to  that  gracious 
Being  who  requires  to  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  with  a  humble  and  a  contrite  heart.  But  still  it 
is  due  to  his  honor  and  majesty,  that  he  should  be  wor- 
shipped in  buildings  at  least  decent  and  commodious, 
and  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  adoration  of  his  great 
name. 

As  an  example  of  the  pious  fervor  which  prevails  in 
many  congregations,  too  poor  and  humble  either  to  erect 
a  building  for  w^orship,  or  to  obtain  the  stated  services 
of  a  minister,  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  the  con- 
gregation at  the  Ochquaga  hills,  Broome  county.  In 
this  retired  district  a  congregation  was  organized  about 
seventeen  years  since  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chace,  then  a 
missionary.  From  that  time  until  I  visited  them,  with 
the  exception  of  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Judd, 
who,  when  a  missionary,  spent  a  few  weeks  with  them. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  239 

they  have  only  enjoyed  three  or  four  times  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nash,  who,  amidst  the  multipli- 
city of  his  labors,  sought  and  cherished  this  destitute 
congregation.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  these  disad- 
vantages, they  have  kept  themselves  together ;  they  have 
regularly  met  for  reading  the  service  and  sermons  ;  and 
I  found  among  them  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
our  Church,  and  a  fervent  attachment  to  its  doctrines 
and  worship,  which  astonished  and  gratified  me.  Con- 
firmation was  administered  to  about  thirty  persons,  and 
the  holy  communion  to  as  many.  Could  you  have 
witnessed,  brethren,  the  expressions  of  their  gratitude, 
and  their  earnest  solicitations,  accompanied  even  with 
tears,  for  only  the  occasional  services  of  a  minister, 
your  treasure  and  your  prayers  would  have  been  poured 
forth  to  gratify  them.  I  had  not  the  treasure,  but  most 
assuredly  I  gave  them  my  prayers,  and  I  promised  them 
my  best  exertions.  I  cannot  leave  their  case,  without 
applying  it  to  establish  the  importance  and  inestimable 
value  of  our  liturgy.  But  for  that  liturgy,  and  the  con- 
stant and  faithful  use  of  it,  the  Episcopal  congregation 
at  the  Ochquaga  hills,  and  doubtless  in  many  other 
places  almost  equally  destitute,  would  long  since  have 
become  extinct.' 


No  wonder  with  such  daily  and  heart-touching 
calls  that  diocesan  missionaries  was  what  he 
pleaded  for,  and  that  until  his  own  children  at 
home  were  fed,  who  were  crying  to  him  for 
bread,  he  was  not  forward  to  cast  abroad  that 
on  which  they  depended. 


240  M  E  I\I  O  I  R     O  F 

One,  however,  of  his  previous  Labors  he  found 
himself  compelled  to  cut  off,  the  editorial 
charge  of  '  the  Churchman's  Magazine.'  On 
his  accession  to  the  episcopate  he  had  transfer- 
red it  to  the  charge  of  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Rudd,  of  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.  ;  but  that  such 
transfer  was  far  from  diminishing  his  watchful 
care  over  the  interests  to  which  it  related,  may 
be  judged  from  the  following  letter  in  answer  to 
a  scheme  of  a  more  lax  and  popular  kind  in  a 
neighboring  diocese.  The  letter  is  given  at 
large  as  exemplifying  both  his  character  and 
his  views. 

*  My  dear  Sir, 

Your  proposals  in  your  first  letter  placed  me  under 
no  small  embarrassment.  On  the  one  hand  I  could  not 
be  insensible  to  the  singular  advantage  which  any  pub- 
lication would  enjoy  from  talents,  erudition,  and  taste 
so  distinguished  as  yours ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  it 
appeared  to  me  (and  your  proposals  evince  the  truth  of 
my  conjecture)  that  you  contemplated  a  miscellany  very 
different  in  design  from  the  Churchman's  Magazine. 
It  is  the  object  of  your  publication  to  support  and  enforce 
the  points  of  coincidence  among  Christians,  "discarding 
those  on  which  there  must  be  a  difference  of  opinion." 
Whether  such  a  plan,  however  feasible  in  theory,  is 
capable  of  being  reduced  to  practice,  or  whether,  if 
vigorously  carried  into  execution,  it  would  not  exclude 
from  the  work  many  important  doctrines  of  Christian- 
ity, are  inquiries  which  appear  to  me  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  241 

In  my  humble  judgment,  a  publication  which  does 
not  support  and  defend  these  points,  gives^  up  the  dis- 
tinctive principles  of  our  Church,  which  the  brightest 
luminaries  defended  while  living,  and  consecrated  in 
their  deaths ;  and  ceases  to  contend  for  Christianity  in 
her  primitive,  purest,  and  fairest  form.  Some  of  these 
principles,  indeed,  may  be  unpopular,  and  though  in 
reality  they  only  can  permanently  secure  "  the  unity  of 
the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,"  the  advocates  of  them 
may  be  supposed  to  be  influenced  by  a  sectarian  spirit ; 
but  this  imputation  ought  not  to  have  any  more  effect  in 
deadening  his  zeal,  than  the  opprobrium  of  being  a  sect 
every  where  spoken  "  against,"  had  on  the  first  defenders 
of  the  Christian  Church. 

Satisfied,  too,  I  am,  that  the  display  of  these  princi- 
ples, and  the  zealous  defence  of  them  have  most  essen- 
tially contributed  to  revive  and  increase  our  Church. 
In  a  late  visitation  through  the  Diocese,  in  company 
with  Dr.  Bowden,  I  found  some  of  the  most  enlightened 
and  zealous  members  of  our  Church,  and  persons  of 
influence  and  standing  in  society,  who  traced  either  their 
conversion  to  the  Church,  or  the  confirmation  of  their 
attachment  to  it,  to  the  display  and  defence  of  its  prin- 
ciples in  the  various  writings  which  from  time  to  time 
have  appeared ;  and  most  certainly  to  the  same  cause 
may  be  traced  the  zeal  and  spirit  of  the  young  men  in 
this  quarter,  who  have  lately  entered  the  ministry,  and 
of  others  who  are  preparing  for  it. 

These  views,  in  connection  with  other  circumstances, 
naturally  excited  the  desire  that  the  Churchman's  Ma- 
gazine should  continue  to  support  the  principles  which 
it  has  hitherto  maintained,  and  that  it  should  be  con- 
ducted  on   a   plan,  which,  without   aspiring   to   high 

Y 


242  M  E  M  O  I  R    O  P 

literary  merit,  would  give  the  plain  people  of  our  com- 
munion what  they  much  want,  plain  and  solid  religious 
information  ;  and  that  of  course  it  should  be  afforded  at 
a  price  which  would  render  it  accessible  to  persons  of 
this  description.  Your  publication  appears  to  aim  prin- 
cipally at  gratifying  readers  of  a  higher  order,  and  the 
price  will  necessarily  prevent  its  general  circulation. 

My  cares  and  duties  always  prevented  that  attention 
to  the  work  which  was  necessary  to  raise  it  even  to  the 
humble  standing  which  I  was  desirous  it  should  attain  ; 
and  the  change  of  my  situation,  and  consequent  increase 
of  my  cares  and  duties,  entirely  interfered  with  my 
charge  of  the  work,  I  have  at  length  concluded  to  fall 
in  with  a  suggestion  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rudd,  and  to 
transfer  the  publication  of  it  to  Elizabethtown. 

I  know  you  will  not  be  displeased  with  the  candor 
with  which  I  address  you.  I  cannot  repress,  however 
unpleasant,  the  apprehension,  that  your  views  of  the  best 
mode  of  advancing  the  interests  of  our  Church,  differ  in 
some  respects  from  those  which,  in  common  with  others, 
I  have  been  accustomed  to  entertain.  Yet  that  very 
liberality  Avhich  I  sometimes  fear  will  lead  its  votaries 
into  an  indifference  to  those  distinctive  principles  which 
to  the  glory  of  our  Church,  have  preserved  her  from  the 
assaults  of  heresy,  schism,  and  enthusiasm,  will  prompt 
you  to  excuse  in  me  this  honest  difference  of  opinion,  to 
believe  me  sincere  in  the  sentiment  that  the  prudent,  the 
resolute,  and  dispassionate  defence  of  those  doctrines,  of 
that  ministry,  and  of  that  worship,  which  distinguish 
our  Church  from  other  Christian  societies,  is  not  incom- 
patible with  the  promotion  of  the  endearing  charities  of 
life,  with  strengthening  the  bonds  of  society,  but  is,  in 
fact,  the  surest  way  of  extending  the  kingdom  of  the 
Redeemer.    Accuse  me  not,  my  dear  Sir,  of  assuming 


BISHOP     H  O  B  A  R  T.  2^13 

the  office  of  a  senior,  in  regard  to  one  for  whom,  on 
many  accounts,  I  feel  veneration  and  esteem  ;  but  it  did 
not  appear  to  me  possible,  without  this  candid  exposi- 
tion, to  account  to  you  for  my  wishing  to  continue  the 
Churchman's  Magazine,  under  its  present  title,  and  on 
its  original  principles  ;  and  independently  of  this  consi- 
deration, I  felt  prompted  to  indulge  the  liberty,  which  I 
trust  you  will  excuse,  of  expressing  to  you  my  fears  (I 
wish  they  may  prove  erroneous)  that  little  good  is  to  be 
expected  to  our  Church  from  a  publication,  which, 
though  it  may  not  "  abandon  an  iota"  of  her  discrimi- 
nating tenets,  discipline,  and  worship,  certainly  asserts 
its  claim  to  patronage,  on  its  determination  to  keep 
tliem  entirely  out  of  view,  as  those  "  subordinate  sub- 
jects on  which  there  must  be  a  difference  among  Chris- 
tians." as  the  only  means  of  discarding  that  sectarian 
spirit  so  long  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  amity  and 
the  bond  of  peace. 

You  see,  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  occupied  the  whole  of 
my  paper,  and  I  have  trespassed  long  on  your  patience  ; 
I  conclude  with  assuring  you  that 

I  am,  very  truly,  &c. 

John  H.  Hobart.' 


The  argument  of  this  letter  seems  to  have 
been  for  a  time  conclusive,  but  the  Churchman's 
Magazine  soon  after  this,  coming  to  a  violent 
end,  through  the  destruction  by  fiie  of  the  print- 
ing-office and  its  contents,  the  scheme  was  re- 
newed in  a  more  open  field  of  patronage,  but,  as 
the  Bishop  augured  of  it,  was  found  wanting  in 
a  substantial  basis,  and  soon  fell  to  the  ground. 


^44  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

III  October  of  this  year  (1812)  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  paying  a  visit  to  his  native  city,  to 
unite  in  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  Theodore 
Dehon,  D.  D.,  for  the  Diocese  of  South-Caro- 
lina, being  the  second  in  its  episcopate,  and 
following  after  an  interval  of  eleven  years — the 
Right  Reverend  Robert  Smith,  its  first  bishop, 
having  died  in  1801.  The  consecration  was 
held  in  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  a  church 
I  of  many  holy  thoughts  to  one  who  had  been 
\  baptized,  confirmed,  and  ordained  within  its 
sacred  walls  ;  and  who  was  now  engaged  at  the 
same  altar  in  conferring  upon  another  the  apos- 
tolic office  and  benediction. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  245 


CHAPTER  XII. 
A.  D.  1813— ^^  38. 

Duties  performed  in  1813 — Address  to  the  Convention — Three  leading 
Points  of  Pohcy,  1.  Missionary  Cause  ;  2.  Observance  of  the  Liturgy  ; 
3.  Ministerial  Education — Letter  to  Mrs.  S.  on  the  Subject — Theo- 
logical Grammar  School — Objects — Failure — Letters — Col.  Troup — 
C.  P.  Mercer. 

As  this  year  (1813)  may  be  considered  the 
first  in  which  Bishop  Hobart  was  free  to  carry 
forward  his  views  of  Episcopal  usefulness,  it 
may  be  w^ell  to  examine  the  evidences  it  affords 
of  kis  labors  and  his  policy.  In  the  course  of 
the  year  he  extended  Episcopal  visitation  to 
thirty-three  parishes  scattered  over  his  exten- 
sive Diocese,  travelling  in  it  more  than  two  thou- 
sand miles  ;  held  confirmation  in  twenty-three 
churches — confirming  eleven  hundred  persons, 
and  ordaining  seven. 

In  his  address  to  the  Convention,  he  urges 
mainly  upon  their  consideration  the  three  follow- 
ing points,  which  may  be  considered,  in  truth,  as 
the  pillars  of  his  whole  subsequent  policy. 

First.  The  necessity  of  missiona^^  labor,  as 
the  only  adequate  means  of  meeting  the  spiritual 
wants  of  a  scattered  population.  His  previous 
exertions  in  this  good  cause  have  been  already 

Y  2 


•246  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

mentioned.  He  now  recommended  to  the  Con- 
vention a  higher  course,  the  adoption  of  a  canon, 
in  place  of  his  resolution  of  1808,  for  the  raising  of 
funds  for  their  support,  thus  making  imperative 
upon  all  the  churches  of  the  Diocese,  an  annual 
collection  for  that  specific  purpose.  This  may  be 
considered  the  foundation,  humanly  speaking,  of 
the  subsequently  rapid  extension  of  the  Church 
through  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the 
State.  The  missionary  cause  was  one  which 
Bishop  Hobart  never  ceased  to  urge,  and 
with  such  success,  that  whereas,  he  found  in 
the  Diocese  but  two  missionaries,  he  left  in  it, 
at  his  death,  over  fifty,  and  scarce  a  church 
throughout  the  country  that  was  not  indebted, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  to  their  labors. 

The  second  point  was  the  spiritual  character  of 
the  Liturgy,  its  obligations,  and  its  competency, 
in  the  hands  of  the  faithful  pastor,  to  meet  all 
the  wants  of  the  awakened  and  the  penitent 
in  social  prayer.  He  viewed  it,  in  short, 
as  a  needful  barrier,  and  the  only  adequate  one, 
against  that  flood  of  fanaticism  which  was  even 
then  beginning  to  swell  up  in  our  country,  and 
by  which  many  denominations  in  it  have  since 
been  almost  desolated.  At  the  time  Bishop 
Hobart  began  these  warnings,  few  believed  him, 
for  few  foresaw  the  danger,  and  many,  even 
within  the  Church,  cried  out  '  shame  '  against 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  247 

him,  as  needlessly  tying  up  '  the  liberty  of  pro- 
phesying.' We  may  leave  it,  now,  even  to  his 
oppugners  to  say,  whether  the  true  prophetic 
spirit  did  not  rather  lie  in  the  warning  against  it 
than  in  the  exercise  of  it. 

On  this  point  Bishop  Hobart  was  steady  and 
miiform,  never  failing  to  urge  it  on  all  fit  occa- 
sions, and  the  more  earnestly  as  he  saw  the 
signs  of  the  coming  whirlwind.  The  following 
extract  gives  the  picture  of  the  missionary  and 
his  labors,  and  the  blessing  which  attends  the 
faithful  use  of  the  Liturgy. 

'■T '  We  no  longer  perceive  in  his  place  in  this  Conven- 
tion, our  venerable  brother  the  Rev.  Davenport  Phelps. 
He  has  gone  to  his  rest.  For  many  years  he  had  been 
employed  as  a  missionary  in  the  western  parts  of  the 
State.  Having  visited  the  extensive  district  in  which 
he  officiated,  I  am  able  to  bear  testimony  to  the  high 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  for  his  pious  and  ex- 
emplary character,  and  for  the  fidelity  and  prudent  zeal 
with  which  he  discharged  his  arduous  and  laborious 
duties.  He  is  justly  revered  as  the  founder  of  the  con- 
gregations in  the  most  western  counties  of  the  State ; 
whom  he  attached,  not  merely  to  his  personal  ministra- 
tions, but  to  the  doctrines,  the  ministry,  and  the  Liturgy 
of  our  Church.  Indeed,  it  was  highly  gratifying  to  me 
to  observe,  in  the  congregations  where  he  officiated, 
and  ,in  others,  in  the  infant  settlements  of  the  State, 
which  are  still  cherished  by  ministers  equally  faithful, 
the  devotion  and  the  decency  with  which  the  people 
performed  their  parts  of  the  public  service.    It  is  an 


248  MEMOIR    OF 

evidence  that  whatever  prejudices  our  Liturgy  may 
have  at  first  to  encounter,  among  those  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  it,  a  minister  who  will  be  diligent  in 
explaining  it,  and  enforcing  its  excellences,  and  who, 
in  obedience  to  his  ordination  vows,  will  be  faithful  and 
devout  in  the  use  of  it,  will  finally  succeed,  by  the 
Divine  blessing,  in  leading  many  to  value  it  as  their 
best  help  in  the  exercises  of  devotion,  and,  next  to  the 
Bible,  their  best  guide  to  heaven.'  * 

To  all  tampering  with  the  Liturgy  Bishop 
Hobart  was  also,  as  is  well  known,  strongly 
opposed.  He  loved  the  good  old  way,  and  to 
walk  in  the  paths  where  his  fathers  had  walked. 
The  praise  of  it  was,  therefore,  often  on  his 
tongue,  dwelling  much  on  its  antiquity  as  well 
as  beauty  ;  showing  how  the  greater  part  of  it 
had  been  used  in  the  Church  for  at  least  fifteen 
hundred  years,  and  that  in  the  Creed,  and  some, 
at  least,  of  the  devotional  hymns,  we  were  wor- 
shipping our  God  and  Saviour  in  the  very 
(translated)  words  in  which  the  apostolic 
Church  had  worshipped  when  it  strengthened 
itself  in  the  days  of  heathen  persecution.  These 
were  the  high  and  holy  associations  which  in- 
vested the  Liturgy,  in  his  mind,  with  a  sacred- 
ness  next  to  the  Bible,  making  him  turn  with 
something  like  indignation,  not  only  from  all 
crude   and   undigested   plans    of  change,    but 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1813,  pp.  14,  15. 


B  I  S  H  0  P    H  O  B  A  R  T.  249 

almost  equally  so  from  any  curtailment  or  mu- 
tilation in  its  performance. 

He  would  not  even  hear  of  any  defects  of 
language  in  it.  On  one  occasion,  the  author 
remembers  to  have  heard  from  him,  in  answer 
to  the  charge  of  solecism,  an  eloquent  vindica- 
tion of  these  words  in  the  Morning  Prayer, — 
'  which  the  craft  and  subtlety  of  the  devil  or 
man  worketh  against  us,' — maintaining  that  the 
verb  singular  with  the  plural  nominative  was 
but  a  part  of  the  dignified  simplicity  of  the  olden 
tongue,  which  would  be  spoiled  by  an  over 
attention  to  grammatical  nicety. 

But  with  all  its  excellences,  the  Liturgy,  as 
he  often  used  to  urge,  must  be  united  in  by 
the  congregation  to  be  felt  and  rightly  appre- 
ciated. '  That  alone,'  he  used  to  say,  '  makes 
it  what  it  professes  to  be,  "  Common  Prayer." 
In  that  it  stands  peculiar.  In  the  Romish 
Church  there  was  none  ;  in  other  Protestant 
Churches  there  is  none  :  it  is  our  peculiar  dis- 
tinction, and,  if  true  to  ourselves,  we  may  make 
it  our  peculiar  blessing.'  On  one  occasion  he 
thus  expressed  himself :  *  Mentally  to  join  in 
the  service  is  not  sufficient ;  the  congregation 
cannot  be  devout,  according  to  the  forms  of  the 
Liturgy,  unless  their  voices  accompany  their 
hearts.  And  this  vocal  and  responsive  devotion, 
while    it    is    the    distinguishing    privilege    of 


^50  MEMOIR     OF 

Churchmen,  contributes  in  a  high  degree  to  the 
solemnity,  and  beauty  and  fervor,  of  our  divine 
service.'  * 

On  another  occasion,  in  reviewing  the  Ufe  of 
an  aged  clergyman  of  the  South, f  he  observes, 
in  editorial  style,  *  We  some  years  ago  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  this  venerable  servant 
of  God,  and  remember  the  feelings  of  reverence 
and  delight  with  which  we  beheld  him,  disabled 
by  the  infirmities  of  age  from  the  charge  of  a 
parish,  joining  in  the  worship  as  one  of  the  con- 
gregation. This  reflection  then  occurred  to  us. 
If  every  worshipper  would  attend  to  the  service 
with  the  same  reverential  devotion,  and  audibly 
join  in  the  responses  with  the  same  fervor  which 
animates  this  venerable  minister,  how  affecting 
and  impressive  would  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church 
appear  ;  how  fruitful  would  it  be  of  spiritual 
comfort,  and  of  all  holy  affections.'  :j: 

The  address  concludes  with  the  following 
sound  advice,  for  which,  even  in  the  present 
day,  the  necessity  is  not  gone  by. 

'  Let  it  then  be  the  object  of  all  who  wish  good  to  our 
Zion,  to  preserve  her,  as  she  is  now  happily  organized, 
in  her  government,  her  doctrine,  and  worship.  If 
changes  in  that  organization  at  any  time  appear  neces- 

♦  Excellence  of  the  Church,  note,  p.  27. 
t  Churchman's  Magazine,  vol.  vii.  p.  257. 
t  The  Rev.  Dr.  Keene. 


BISHOPHOBART.  251 

sary,  let  them  be  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  much 
previous  consultation,  and  in  some  degree  at  least  of 
general  concert;  and  not  the  hasty  and  unadvised  ebul- 
lition of  individual  zeal.  This  zeal,  however  commend- 
able, is  then  only  safe,  when,  with  true  Christian 
humility,  it  submits  to  the  guidance  and  control  of  wis- 
dom and  experience  ;  and  aims  rather  to  infuse  new  life 
and  spirit  into  institutions  long  established,  than  to 
enter  on  doubtful  because  untried  measures.  In  the 
several  stations  in  which  it  has  pleased  the  divine  Head 
of  the  Church  to  place  us,  let  it  be  our  endeavor,  in 
dependence  on  his  grace  and  blessing,  "  truly  and  faith- 
fully to  serve  him,"  and  to  exhibit  our  Church  in  the 
purity  of  her  doctrines,  the  primitive  sanctity  of  her 
ministry,  and  the  evangelical  spirit  of  that  liturgy 
which  has  been  established  by  the  wisdom  and  piety  of 
the  ages  before  us.  Thus,  while  we  secure  our  own 
salvation,  we  shall  advance  the  permanent  prosperity  of 
our  Church,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  instrumental 
in  diffusing  the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  our  Lord  and  Re- 
deemer, in  its  original  simplicity,  purity,  and  power.'  * 

The  third  feature  alluded  to,  of  Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  policy,  was  '  the  attainment  of  a  learned 
as  well  as  pious  ministry.'  This  object,  for 
which  in  his  private  capacity  he  had  already 
labored  and  pleaded,  he  now  officially  brought 
forward,  and  never  ceased  to  press,  year  after 
year,  until  he  had  attained  it,  by  the  en- 
dowment of  a  well-organized  theological  sem- 
inary. 

*  Journal,  1813,  pp.  16,  17. 


252  M  E  M  O  I  R    O  F 

'  The  importance,  says  he,  of  an  establishment  for  the 
instruction,  for  the  religious  and  moral  discipline,  and,  in 
some  cases,  for  the  support  of  young  men  designed  for 
holy  orders,  has  always  appeared  to  me  essential  to  the 
prosperity  of  our  Church ;  nor  were  exertions  and  arrange- 
ments wanting  on  my  part,  when  in  a  private  station, 
to  carry  this  object  in  some  degree  into  effect.  As  the 
responsibility  of  the  admission  of  persons  to  holy  orders 
ultimately  rests  on  the  bishop ;  and  as  from  the  nature 
of  his  office,  and  the  provisions  of  the  Canons,  it  is  his 
duty  to  exercise  a  general  direction  and  superintendence 
of  their  previous  studies,  the  necessity  of  a  theological 
school  presses  with  greater  force  upon  my  mind  in  the 
station  which  I  now  occupy.  It  is  an  auspicious  cir- 
cumstance, that  the  attention  of  the  clergy,  and  of 
Episcopalians  generally,  appears  to  be  awakened  to  the 
importance  of  this  object.  And  I  trust  it  will  not  be 
long  before  a  theological  school  is  established  ;  the  ob- 
ject of  which  shall  be  to  train  up  young  men  for  the 
ministry,  not  only  in  literary  and  theological  knowledge, 
but  in  evangelical  piety,  and  prudent  but  fervent  zeal 
for  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  plan  and  the  situation 
of  this  institution  should  meet  the  wants  and  the  wishes, 
not  merely  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese,  but  of  our 
Church  at  large,  and  thus  contribute  to  advance  and 
preserve  those  invaluable  objects,  the  purity  and  the  unity 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  these  States.'  * 

The  following  letter,  dated  a  few  months 
earlier  than  the  Convention,  shows  that  his 
private  influence  was  operating   to   the   same 

*  Journal,  1813,  pp.  15,  16. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  253 

end  as  his  public,  for  a  theological  school.  It 
is  addressed  to  a  lady,  (Mrs.  S.,)  to  him  a  kind 
and  liberal  friend,  who  after  having  appropriated, 
by  will,  a  portion  of  her  aged  solitary  wealth  to 
such  an  endowment,  had  changed  its  desti- 
nation. 

TO  MRS.   S. 

'New -York,  13th  March,  1813. 
My  dear  Madam, 

Under  a  lively  recollection  of  your  uniform  kind- 
ness to  me  and  my  family,  and  especially  of  the  pious 
appropriation  of  a  part  of  your  property,  at  my  sug- 
gestion, I  iiope  you  will  not  be  displeased  at  me  for 
stating  that  I  have  heard,  with  deep  and  inexpressible 
regret,  that  this  appropriation  is  now  changed,  and  I 
entreat  your  kind  indulgence  to  permit  me  to  state  the 
causes  which  excite  that  regret.  If  I  know  my  own 
heart,  not  a  single  motive  of  private  interest  mingles 
v/ith  them  ;  but  I  have  been  long  firmly  convinced  that 
a  theological  school  at  least,  if  not  a  college,  is  essential 
to  the  ultimate  prosperity  of  our  Church.  The  fact  that 
almost  all  other  denominations  are  establishing  and 
endowing  them,  and  already  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
them,  might  supersede  the  necessity  of  all  argument 
for  the  expediency  of  similar  institutions  among  us. 

The  change  that  has  taken  place  in  my  situation, 
and  in  the  Church,  and  the  disturbances  which  have 
agitated  it,  have  prevented  my  plans  being  carried  into 
execution,  but  my  sense  of  their  importance  is  not 
diminished,  nor  my  resolution,  at  a  proper  juncture,  to 
devote  to  them  all  my  efforts  and  zeal.  I  have  already 
Z 


254  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

counselled  with  many  friends  of  the  Church,  and  im- 
pressed them  with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  a  theo- 
logical seminary.  I  had  also  drafted  an  address  to  the 
Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  which  I  enclose  for  your 
perusal.  You  will  perceive,  that  in  this  communication 
I  had  availed  myself  of  your  pious  and  benevolent 
intentions,  (without  mentioning  your  name,)  partly  in 
evidence  that  this  institution  would  be  set  on  foot,  but 
mainly  as  an  excitement  to  the  liberality  of  others.  I 
regarded,  indeed,  your  bounty  as  of  incalculable  import- 
ance, not  merely  in  the  aid  it  would  give  in  the  location 
and  primary  organization  of  the  establishment,  but  the 
animating  example  it  afforded  of  pious  liberality. 

When  I  perceived,  in  our  country,  the  pious  and 
benevolent  of  other  denominations  devoting  large  sums 
to  the  endowment  of  similar  institutions,  and  when 
among  Episcopalians,  I  searched  in  vain  for  similar 
instances  of  pious  munificence,  my  heart  sunk  within 
me,  and  now  have  I  often  thanked  God  for  putting 
it  into  your  heart  to  devote  a  part  of  that  wealth,  of 
which  he  had  made  you  steward,  to  the  best  of  all  pur- 
poses, the  making  provision  for  proclaiming  the  Gospel 
of  his  Son  to  future  generations  !  and  I  looked  forward 
to  your  bright  example  inspiring  and  exciting  others  to 
do  likewise. 

Excuse  me,  my  dear  Madam,  it  is  a  subject  which 
weighs  most  heavily  on  my  mind,  having  dwelt  so  long 
and  anticipated  so  much  from  the  commencement  of  an 
institution,  which  was  to  be  the  main  stay  of  our 
Church  —  having  employed,  already,  (in  confidence,) 
your  example,  to  rouse  the  pious  zeal  of  some,  and 
indulged  the  hope  of  it  calling  forth,  when  proclaimed 
the  liberality  of  many,  and  building  up  the  pride  and 
boast  of  the  Church.    I  own  I  cannot  see  all  these  hopes 


B  I  S  H  O  P      H  O  B  A  R  T.  255 

blasted  without  expressing  the  poignancy  of  ray  disap- 
pointment and  regret.  It  has  even  appeared  to  me  my 
duty  not  to  permit  an  event,  so  unfortunate  to  the 
Church,  to  take  place  without  a  respectful  effort  to  pre- 
vent it.  And  I  cannot  but  indulge  the  hope  that  subse- 
quent reflection  will  restore  the  original  determination 
to  devote  some  portion  of  that  wealth  which  you  em- 
ploy in  the  purposes  of  benevolence  to  the  most  bene- 
volent of  all. 

It  will  certainly,  however,  become  me,  most  respect- 
fully to  acquiesce  in  your  decision,  and  I  am  sensible 
that,  for  the  liberty  I  now  take,  I  must  offer  as  my 
apology  the  privilege  of  a  friend  to  express  his  feelings, 
and  the  duty  of  a  minister  to  plead,  as  I  think  I  <io  in 
this  case,  the  cause  of  his  Master.  I  pray  God  to  direct 
you  as  may  best  promote  his  glory  and  the  interests  of 
his  holy  religion. 

I  remain,  Sec. 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

The  remonstrance  was,  in  part  successful — 
the  bequest  was  restored.  The  will  took  effect 
in  1821,  and  was  found  to  contain  a  specific 
devise  of  |^  10,000,  to  that  end,  for  a  theological 
school  to  be  established  at  Geneva,  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  Diocese,  and  a  residuary  estate,  to 
about  half  that  amount,  that  immediately  vested 
in  trust  for  pious  purposes.  But  the  secret  of  the 
letter  is  not  yet  fully  told.  The  diversion  that 
Mrs.  S.  had  proposed  making  of  that  portion  of 
her  property  was,  it  seems,  to  the  Bishop  person- 
ally ;  the  indirect  knowledge  of  which  intention. 


256  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

or  act,  was  the  ground  of  his  earnest  and  dis- 
interested expostulation.  The  authority  for 
this  statement,  so  honorable  to  him,  is  distinctly 
given  by  Dr.  Berrian  ;  speaking  of  the  testatrix 
he  says ; — 

'  Her  respect  for  the  Bishop  amounted  almost  to 
veneration,  and  her  attachment  for  his  family  was 
truly  maternal.  They  had  received  many  substantial 
proofs  of  her  kindness  during  her  life,  and  a  still  more 
important  one  was  furnished  by  a  liberal  provision 
which  she  made  in  their  behalf  in  her  last  will.  She 
wanted  to  carry  this  farther,  and  to  leave  the  whole  of 
the  residuary  legacy,  which  the  Bishop  had  prevailed 
upon  her  to  apply  to  public  purposes,  for  his  private 
benefit ;  but  though  she  pressed  it  upon  him  with  the 
greatest  earnestness,  yet,  with  a  delicacy,  disinterested- 
ness, and  consistency,  which  would  not,  perhaps,  have 
been  shown  by  most  men,  he  decidedly  opposed  this 
diversion  of  it  from  its  original  and  laudable  designs. 
I  received  this  account,  shortly  after  her  death,  from  the 
Bishop  himself.'  * 

It  is  satisfactory,  however,  to  learn  that  she 
did  not  suffer  the  personal  bequest  to  be  wholly 
frustrated. 

But  he  was  not  content,  in  this  matter,  to 
urge  others,  he  went  to  work  himself,  and  in 
the  spring  of  the  following  year,  (1814,)  pro- 
ceeded to  put  forth  a  scheme  for  a  '  Theological 

*  Berrian,  p.  251. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  257 

Grammar  School,'  to  serve  as  a  foundation,  or 
stepping-stone,  to  a  higher  seminary.  This 
appears  to  be  the  plan  alluded  to  in  the  above 
letter,  as  being,  for  a  time,  abandoned,  but  to 
which,  under  disappointed  hopes,  he  now  seems 
to  have  turned  as  the  only  one  within  the  scope 
of  his  own  personal  resources  and  energies. 

The  immediate  object  of  this  school  was  the 
preparatory  (not  professional)  education  of  the 
candidate  for  the  ministry,  mider  circumstances 
and  associations  favorable  to  habits  of  piety  and 
attachment  to  the  Church  ;  its  final  aim  was  the 
establishment  of  a  theological  seminary.  To 
this  latter  end  all  its  instruction  was  to  be  direct- 
ed, and  all  its  profits  appropriated,  one-half  of 
the  net  proceeds,  as  well  as  of  all  donations,  be- 
ing devoted  to  the  erection  of  buildings  and  the 
endowment  of  professorships  ;  the  other  half  to 
an  equally  needful  object,  the  endowment  of 
scholarships,  as  an  aid  to  necessitous  students. 

The  claims  of  such,  however,  were  to  be 
strictly  canvassed. 

'  None  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  institution  until 
the  superintendents  were  satisfied,  from  personal  ac- 
quaintance, or  the  fullest  testimony,  of  their  pious  and 
amiable  dispositions,  the  correctness  of  their  morals, 
their  fitness  for  the  sacred  office,  their  desire  of  entering 
into  the  ministry,  as  the  means  of  advancing  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  salvation  of  man,  and  their  attachment 
Z  2 


358  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

to  the  doctrines,  order,  and  worship  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  It  was  to  be  the  duty  of  the  officers, 
not  merely  by  exercises  of  devotion,  but  by  frequent 
practical  addresses,  and  by  all  other  means  in  their 
power,  to  cherish  these  dispositions  in  the  young  men 
designed  for  holy  orders,  to  impress  upon  them  the 
origin,  the  duties,  and  the  difficulties,  as  well  as  the 
aids  and  rewards  of  the  Christian  ministry,  that  they 
might  be  devoted  to  the  sacred  work,  and  prepared  to 
exert  with  prudence,  fidelity,  and  zeal,  all  their  talents 
and  attainments  in  the  service  of  their  divine  Lord  and 
Master,  and  of  the  Church  which  he  purchased  with 
his  blood.'  * 

It  is  not  easy  to  over  estimate  the  value  to 
the  Church  an  establishment  like  this  would 
have  been,  having  such  ends  in  view,  and  under 
such  effective  management.  It  was  to  take  the 
candidate  early,  and  train  him  faithfully  and 
long,  '  in  the  spirit,'  to  use  the  language  of  the 
prospectus,  '  of  evangelical  piety,  in  habits  of 
close  thinking,  and  accurate  research  ;  in  theo- 
logical attainments  ;  in  the  proper  mode  of 
celebrating  holy  offices  ;  in  pulpit  eloquence  ; 
and  in  the  still  more  important  practical  quali- 
fications which  constitute  the  faithful,  laborious, 
and  zealous  parish  minister.'  It  was  not  merely 
to  educate  candidates  for  the  ministry,  but,  under 
God's   grace,   to   qualify  them  for  it.     In  the 

*  Berrian,  p.  156. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  259 

language  again  of  Bisliop  Hobait,  'To  guard 
and  exalt  their  piety,  to  increase  their  affection 
for  the  ministry,  and  to  train  them  and  fit  them 
practically  for  its  duties.'  •  The  spirit  of  the 
ministry,'  he  justly  observes,  'such  as  it  was  in 
primitive  times,  and  such  the  Church  now 
requires,  must  be  formed  in  retirement,  by  stud}'', 
meditation,  and  prayer.'  ^ 

This  scheme  of  Christian  education,  in  which 
the  religious  character  was  to  be  formed  in  con- 
nection with  the  intellectual,  was  rendered  still 
further  attractive  by  the  Bishop's  pledgee,  that 
his  own  services  were  to  be  given  to  it,  not  only 
as  its  immediate  ruler,  but  also  as  a  teacher,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  his  official  duties  would  permit. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  the}^  were  to  be 
gratuitous.  The  location  of  the  school,  with  a 
view  to  the  combined  objects  of  health,  quiet, 
and  facility  of  access,  he  proposed  to  place  in  a 
retired  elevated  district,  near  Springfield,  New- 
Jersey,  known  as  the  Short  Hills,  eighteen  miles 
distant  from  the  city,  a  neighborhood  where  he 
had  already  purchased,  some  years  before,  a 
small  farm  of  ten  acres,  with  a  view  to  devote  it 
to  such  an  establishment,  and  with  it, '  as  soon 
as  a  favorable  opportunity  should  offer,  whatever 
talents  or  zeal  he  might  possess.'     This  position 

*  Prospectus  of  School,  &c. 


260  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

necessarily  bringing  it  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
another,  the  Bishop  of  New-Jersey  was,  con- 
sequently, to  be  associated  with  him  in  the 
government  of  the  school,  and  the  whole  to  be 
under  the  sanction  and  control  of  the  General 
Convention  of  the  Church.  But,  however 
responsibility  might  be  shared,  the  labor  was 
to  be  his  own. 

What  an  idea  does  this  again  give  us  of 
energy  and  self-devotion  !  Such  a  scheme 
from  one  already  bearing  upon  his  shoulders 
a  weight  of  duties  that  would  have  crushed  ordi- 
nary men  I  But  fortunately  for  his  health,  though 
unfortunately,  as  he  thought,  for  the  Church, 
he  was  doomed  to  a  second  disappointment : 
the  scheme  itself  was  a  novelty,  and  therefore 
had  its  constitutional  opposers.  The  times,  too, 
were  unpropitious  :  an  unnatural  war  between 
us  and  what  had  once  been  termed  '  the  mother 
country,'  and  should  always  be  regarded  as  a 
'  sister  one,'  had  broken  down  many  fortunes,  and 
given  uncertainty  to  all.  The  only  effect,  there- 
fore, of  the  scheme  was  to  open  the  eyes  of 
Episcopalians  to  a  sense  of  its  necessity,  to  show 
them  the  wants  of  the  Church,  and  to  prepare 
them  for  action  under  more  favorable  auspices. 

With  the  attainment  of  this,  therefore,  he 
endeavored  to  be  for  the  present  content. 
But    the   Church   labored    under   many    evils 


BISHOP     HOBART.  2G1 

for  the  want  of  it.  The  exercise  of  ecclesi- 
astical discipline  was  among  the  hard  duties  of 
his  episcopal  office.  Even  in  the  holiest  of  pro- 
fessions there  sometimes  will  be  unworthy  mem- 
bers :  the  difficulty,  the  painfulness,  the  scandal, 
arising  from  the  necessity  of  exercising  such 
discipline,  early  led  Bishop  Hobait  to  the  only 
true  corrective, — a  most  scrupulous  care  as  to 
the  admission  of  candidates.  But  this,  again,  by 
making  it  discretionary,  only  shifted  the  respon 
sibility,  and  while  it  relieved  the  Church,  bur- 
thened  himself  with  a  new  load.  This,  however, 
he  little  recked  of :  no  man  less  feared  than  he 
did  the  responsibility  of  office.  But  still  it  was 
not  without  its  painfulness  at  all  times,  and 
sometimes  exposed  him  to  much  odium  ;  the 
charges  of  tyranny  and  persecution  being  too 
frequently  the  reward  he  met  for  the  fearless 
performance  of  duty.  One  or  two  notes  on  this 
subject  are  given. 

•      FROM  BISHOP  HOBART. 

« Decerj^ber  12,  1814. 
Sir, 

I  trust  you  believe  me  sincere  when  I  assure  you 
that  I  feel  much  regret  in  not  being  able  to  make  up  my 
mind  after  all  the  serious  reflection  and  confidential 
consultation  which  the  subject  required,  to  advise  you 
to  prosecute  your  view  of  obtaining  holy  orders.  I 
should,  however,  do  great  violence  to  my  feelings  on 


2G2  MEMOIR      OF 

this  occasion,  if  I  did  not  express  my  sensibility  lo  llie 
correct,  dignified  mode  in  which  you  have  brought  this 
business  before  me,  and  to  the  honorable  and  delicate 
consideration,  which  you  have  manifested  in  the  progress 
of  it,  for  the  difficult  and  responsible  duty  which  in  these 
cases  I  have  to  perform.  I  should  also  be  guilty  of  very 
great  injustice,  if  I  did  not  promptly  and  decidedly 
assure  you,  that,  in  forming  my  sentiments  on  this 
subject,  I  have  not  been  influenced  by  any  distrust  of 
the  purity  of  your  character,  the  force  of  your  talents, 
or  the  extent  of  your  attainments.  Allow  me  cordially 
to  wish  you  all  possible  success  in  your  professional 
pursuits  and  literary  labors,  and  to  proffer  you  all  the 
influence  and  aid,  which,  at  the  present,  or  any  future 
time,  may  be  at  my  disposal. 

I  am,  &c. 

J.  H.  HOBART." 

How  this  gentle  dismissal  was  received,  there 
is  no  evidence  to  show.  The  following,  in 
another  case,  is  the  answer  from  one  who  shows 
the  talent,  at  least,  if  not  the  humhle  spirit  that 
hecame  the  candidate. 

FROM  A  REJECTED  CANDIDATE. 

'New -York,  March,  1813. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

I  heard  a  few  days  since  of  your  determination  to 
refuse  me  holy  orders.  Of  the  causes  which  led  to  this 
event,  I  have,  for  my  own  sake,  little  Avish  to  know 
more  than  I  do.  There  is,  however,  another  very  deeply 
interested  in  the  affair,  whom  I  wish  to  be  fully  satisfied, 
and  for  whose  satisfaction  something  more  will  be  re- 


B  I  S  H  O  P      H  O  B  A  R  T.  263 

quisite  than  the  loose  verbal  account  which  I  have 
received.  A  few  definite  reasons  in  writing  is  what 
is  requested.  I  am  aware  that  I  am  here  asking  the 
fulfilment  of  an  imperfect  obligation,  but  I  ask  it  of  one, 
who,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  needs  no  compulsion  to  be 
just.     I  ask  it,  therefore,  with  confidence. 

With  much  respect,  I  am,  Sir,  yours,  &c.' 

On  the  back  of  this  note  was  found  endorsed 
the  Bishop's  answer  as  follows  : 

'  Directed  Mr.  Chandler,  who  delivered  this  note,  to 
say,  that  I  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  give  my  jreasons 
in  writing,  as  a  consequence  of  his  written  demand  ;  but 
that  I  was  ready,  whenever  he  chose  to  wait  on  me,  to 
acquaint  him  with  them,  having  already  informed  him 
of  them  through  Mr.  Bowen.' 

Another  instance,  falling  within  the  personal 
observation  of  the  writer,  is  also  here  given, 
though  occurring  at  a  later  date.  It  bears 
on  the  same  point.  A  candidate,  rejected  by 
the  Bishop,  for  what  he  deemed  sufficient  cause, 
called  upon  the  author  with  a  view  to  obtain 
his  influence  with  Bishop  Hobart  that  he  would 
take  no  steps  to  prevent  his  obtaining  ordination 
elsewhere.  Regarding  this  request  as  but  rea- 
sonable, inasmuch  as  the  charge  affected  not 
moral  character  or  doctrinal  soundness,  the 
author  willingly  undertook  the  office  of  media- 
tor.    He  accordingly  stated  to  the  Bishop  both 


264  MEMOIROF 

the  request  and  the  argument  for  it,  viz.  that 
after  satisfying  his  own  conscience  by  refusing 
the  candidate,  he  was  but  leaving  his  brother 
bishops  to  the  exercise  of  the  same  conscientious 
independence  which  he  claimed  for  himself;  and 
as  he  was  not  responsible  for  their  acts,  it  cer- 
tainly was  no  part  of  his  duty  to  guide  their 
discretion.     This  argument  the  author  deemed 
conclusive,   but    he    found    he   was  impinging 
agamst  a  rock.     '  If  I  thought  him  worthy,'  was 
the  Bishop's   answer,    '  I  would  myself  ordain 
him.     If  I  think  him  unworthy,   I  feel  it  my 
duty  so  to  impress  my  convictions  on  my  brother 
bishops,  (who  in  this  matter  can  only  make  up 
their  minds  upon  testimony,)    that   they  may 
come  to  what  I  consider  as  the  right  conclusion.' 
Upon  the  author  further  urging  the  unpopu- 
larity and  odium  of  such  a  course,  his  reply  was 
in  a  still  higher  tone.     '  God  knows,'  said  he, 
'  I  have  no  need  to  increase  the  burthen  of  that, 
and  foreseeing  it  as  I  clearly  do,  I  would  that  I 
could  view  the  matter  as  you  view  it ;  but  I 
cannot — I  feel  that  I  am  called  to  stand  in  the 
gap,  and  be  ihe  result  what  it  may,  I  must  go 
forward.'     It  was  the  language  and  manner  of 
one  who  had  '  counted  the  cost,'  who  had  higher 
motives  before  him  than  the  world  could  either 
give  or  take  away,  and  his  friend  urged  him  no 
further  ;  but  it  left  upon  his  mind  an  impression 


BISHOP     HOBART.  265 

of  singleness  of  purpose  and  fearlessness  of  char- 
acter, beyond  any  other  act  of  his  life,  though 
lie  will  not  say  but  that  he  thinks  now,  as  he 
thought  then,  that  the  Bishop  was  assuming  a 
burthen  that  rested  not  on  him  to  take  up. 
A  few  letters  here  intervene. 

FROM  COL.  TROUP. 

'  Geneva,  20th  November,  1813. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  was  duly  favored  with  your  obliging  letter  of  the 
4th  instant.  I  am  gratified  at  finding  that  the  course 
recommended  by  me  with  respect  to  Mr.  Clowes  re- 
ceives the  approbation  of  yourself,  Dr.  B.,  and  Mr.  H. 
After  the  dissensions  which  have  agitated  our  Church, 
concord  in  every  member  of  it  is  highly  important,  and 
I  am  confident  that  the  course  recommended  will  restore 
the  congregation  in  Albany  to  perfect  peace. 

Before  the  receipt  of  your  letter  I  had  heard  of  the 
great  and  irreparable  loss  which  our  most  worthy  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  M'K.,  had  sustained  in  the  death  of  their 
amiable  and  promising  son,  an  event  which  has  added 
not  a  little  to  the  severity  of  my  other  afflictions.  The 
next  time  you  see  them,  be  kind  enough  to  tender  them 
my  heartfelt  condolence  ;  I  trust  they  know  me  too  well 
to  doubt  that  I  sincerely  partake  their  grief.  Their  son 
is  gone,  and  they  are  going :  they  could  not  have  en- 
joyed him  long,  nor  will  they  long  be  separated  from 
him.  Considering  the  innocence  and  purity  of  his  life, 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  he  is  happy.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  he  is  safe,  not  only  from  the  ills  of  this  world, 
but  also  from  those  more  formidable  dangers  which 
A  a 


266  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

extend  their  mischief  to  eternity.  These  reflections 
naturally  lead  to  resignation,  submission  to  infinite 
goodness  ;  and  at  the  same  time  suggest  the  duty  of 
falling  down  without  irreverent  murmurs,  and  adoring 
the  sovereign  Dispenser  of  good  and  evil  with  a  humble 
confidence  that  although  "  sorrow  may  endure  for  a 
night,  yet  that  joy  will  come  in  the  morning." 

I  beg  you  to  present  my  kind  regards  to  our  friends, 
and  to  believe  me,  with  the  purest  esteem,  &c. 

Robert  Troup.' 

In  a  subsequent  letter  reference  is  again 
made  by  him  to  his  afflicted  friends,  in  language 
that  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  had 
sources  of  consolation  less  vague  than  those 
which  his  letter  had  presented  to  them,  and 
that  they  had  become  in  turn  the  advisers  of 
him  who  gave  them  counsel.  '  Remember  me 
kindly,'  says  he,  '  to  our  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
M'K,,  and  tell  the  latter  that  I  have  endeavored 
to  execute  her  commands  with  the  utmost  fidel- 
it}^  It  would  have  been  better  for  me  in  former 
days  if  I  had  paid  more  respect  to  her  injunc- 
tions.' 

Of  the  young  man,  whose  death  is  alluded  to 
in  these  letters.  Bishop  Hobart  had  formed  very 
high  anticipations.  Among  his  papers  the  au- 
thor lighted  upon  one  intended  probably  as  an 
obituary  notice,  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  as  '  of 
rare  talents  and  virtues,'  and  the  pride  and  solace 
of  the  declining  years  of  his   aged  and  much- 


BISHOP      HOB  ART.  267 

respected  parents,  but  the  better  part  is  that  the 
Christian  faith  was  'his  preparation  and  their 
support.' 

TO  C.  F.  MERCER. 

'  New  -  York,  February  19,  1814. 
My  dear  Mercer, 

This  will  be  handed  you  by  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Moore, 
D.  D.,  of  this  city,  who  has  received  very  pressing  soli- 
citations to  take  charge  of  the  new  church  at  Richmond.* 
The  interest  you  have  taken,  my  dear  Mercer,  in  my 
concerns,  has  doubtless  led  you  to  notice  Dr.  Moore's 
name,  as  connected  with  the  late  differences  in  the 
Church  here  ;  I  think  it,  therefore,  due  to  him  to  state 
that  he  did  not  advise  or  sanction  the  publication  of 
Mr.  Jones ;  that  the  part  he  took  in  his  favor  was  dic- 
tated by,  a  sense  of  obligations  to  him,  and  not  by  any 
motives  of  hostility  to  me  ;  that  since  the  settlement  of 
the  question  of  diocesan  authority,  Dr.  Moore  has  acted 
with  the  utmost  propriety  as  regards  the  authority  of 
the  Church,  and  vAxh  great  kindness  toward  me,  and 
has  in  no  degree  abetted  Mr.  Jones  in  any  of  his  recent 
measures  hostile  to  the  order,  interest,  and  peace  of  the 
Church.  So  confident,  indeed,  am  I  of  Dr.  Moore's 
friendship  and  co-operation,  that  in  this  point  of  view  I 
shall  regret  his  removal  out  of  this  Diocese. 

On  the  subject  of  the  Church,  my  dear  Mercer,  you 
know  my  principles,  views,  and  feelings ;  you  know 
ray  attachment  to  her  primitive  order  and  inimitable 

♦  The  Monumental  Church,  so  called,  as  being  erected  on  the 
ruins  of  the  theatre  burnt;  an  event  which  desolated  the  families 
of  Richmond,  by  the  number  of  those  destroyed  in  the  confla- 
gration. 


MEMOIR     OF 

worship,  as  well  as  to  her  evangelical  doctrines ;  you 
know  how  I  have  mourned  over  the  desolations  of  our 
Zion  in  your  State,  and  how  my  heart  has  grieved  at 
beholding  that  Liturgy,  which  was  the  delight  and 
glory  of  holy  saints  now  in  that  paradise  for  which  its 
sacred  devotions  prepared  them,  neglected,  mutilated, 
despised,  almost  trodden  under  foot.  On  all  these  sub- 
jects I  have  had  full,  unreserved  communications  with 
Dr.  Moore,  which  have  resulted  in  an  entire  persuasion 
that  should  he  settle  in  Virginia,  it  will  be  his  unre- 
mitting endeavor,  combining  prudence  with  zeal  and 
firmness,  to  restore  our  Church  to  purity  and  vigor  iu 
her  doctrines,  institutions,  and  worship. 

It  is  this  joyful  hope  that,  by  the  Divine  blessing,  he 
will  be  instrumental  in  repairing  the  waste  places  of 
our  Zion,  and  in  building  her  up  in  the  beauty  of  holi-' 
ness  that  leads  me  to  wish  him  God-speed. 

I  trust,  my  dear  Mercer,  he  will  receive  your  influ- 
ence in  his  endeavors  to  remove  the  prejudices  which 
subsist  against  our  Church  ;  that  you  will  aid  him  to 
present  the  Liturgy  unmutilated,  by  stating  among  your 
friends  and  acquaintance,  when  necessary,  that  this  is 
required,  not  only  by  consistency  of  character,  but  by 
fidelity  to  his  ordination  vows ;  and  by  reminding  him 
of  those  days,  when,  amidst  clergy  often  negligent  and 
lukewarm,  and  sometimes  immofal,  it  was  this  Liturgy 
which  drew,  and  attached  their  forefathers  to  the 
Church. 

Mr.  Moore's  character  justifies  the  expectation  that 
he  will  display  all  the  pious  zeal  and  activity  required 
by  the  arduous  stations  in  which  he  will  be  placed. 
But  certainly,  were  I  not  persuaded  that  his  zeal  for 
God's  glory,  and  for  the  salvation  of  men  would  be 
regulated  by  the  form"  of  sound  words  professed  by  our 


BISHOP     HOBART.  2G9 

Church,  by  her  order  and  institutions,  I  should  not  anti- 
cipate, as  I  now  do,  any  good  to  our  Church  from  his 
going  among  you.  I  hope  he  may  find  you  in  Rich- 
mond, and  that  I  shall  hear  from  you  on  his  return. 

Be  assured,  that,  different  as  are  our  pursuits,  and 
distant  as  we  are  in  place, 

I  remain,  as  ever,  dear  Mercer, 
Most  affectionately, 

John  H.  Hobart.' 


A  a  2 


270  MEMOIROF 

CHAPTER  Xin, 
A.  D.   1814.      Mt.  39. 

General  Convention  —  Motion  for  a  General  Theological  Seminary 
opposed  by  Bishop  Hobart — Reasons— Standing  and  Influence  in  that 
Body — Sermon  preached  at  its  Opening — Review  of  it— Sentiments 
touching  the  Church  of  England — General  Constitution  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church — Prospects — Rite  of  Confirmation — Admin- 
istered at  Hyde  Park — Influence — Eulogium  on  the  Prayer-book — 
Letters — C.  F.  Mercer — President  Smith. 

Of  his  course  as  Bishop,  Mr.  Hobart  had 
already  given  warrant  to  the  Church,  in  the 
numerous  publications  that  had  preceded  his 
elevation;  it  was,  to  maintain  the  vital  truths 
of  the  Gospel  in  connection  with  the  distinctive 
principles  of  the  Church,  or  as  he  himself  was 
accustomed  to  indicate  it,  *  the  union  of  evan- 
gelical truth  with  apostolic  order.'  He  doubted 
the  expediency  of  teaching  a  '  no  Church ' 
Christianity  ;  he  distrusted  '  modern  liberality  ;  * 
he  regarded  it  but  as  the  cloak  of  indifference, 
the  language  of  infidelity,  or,  at  best,  the  apo- 
logy of  a  mind  too  indolent  to  examine,  or  too 
little  interested  to  choose  between  the  conflict- 
ing claims  of  Christian  truth.  Such  a  spirit  in 
the  Church  he  regarded  as  a  fatal  symptom,  he 
therefore  deprecated  its  existence,  and  fought 


BISHOP     HOBART.  271 

against  its  extension  under  every  form  in  which 
it  presented  itself. 

How,  he  would  say,  can  Christianity  be  tauglit 
in  the  abstract  1  one  might  as  well  propose  to  put 
into  the  hand  of  the  child  who  is  to  learn  it,  a 
Bible,  that  shall  be  neither  large,  nor  small,  nor 
medium  size,  and  of  which  the  binding  shall  be  a 
color  partaking  equally  of  all  colors  ;  but  Chris- 
tianity has  its  form,  and  has  its  color,  and  man  has 
no  right  to  vary  from  either  the  one  or  the  other. 
The  Gospel  generalized,  is  no  Gospel  ;  if  all 
creeds  be  admitted,  no  creed  can  be  held, -and  if 
no  creed  be  held,  there  is  no  standing  ground 
for  the  Christian  reasoner,  no  foothold  against 
infidelity  ;  once  entered  on  that  slippery  descent, 
the  mind  glides  insensibly,  but,  necessarily,  on- 
ward;  all  behind,  becomes  bigotry  ;  all  before, 
liberality  ;  nor  can  we  stop,  upon  this  principle, 
till  £1,11  truth  is  generalized,  and  all  opinions, 
however  heretical  or  infidel,  are  put  upon  an  equal 
footing.  But  where  then  will  be  the  Gospel  1 
where  will  be  the  Christian'?  The  Gospel  will 
then  be  ranked  among  the  many  marvellous  his- 
tories of  a  dark  and  fabulous  age  ;  and  the  Chris- 
tian, at  least  he  who  bears  such  name  under  this 
extension,  will  find  himself  sitting  down,  not 
only  with  the  Arian  and  the  Socinian,  but  with 
the  Moslem  and  the  Gentoo,  as  having  equal 
rights  and  equal  claims  with  himself,  and,  worse 


272  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

than  all  that,  even  with  the  utter  infidel  and 
atheist.  Such  must,  demonstratively,  be  the  re- 
sult, unless  we  stand  upon  Christian  truth,  for  if 
we  arbitrarily  stop  short,  what  becomes  of  the 
principle  contended  for.  There  is,  therefore,  but 
one  security  in  the  Christian  Church ;  there  is, 
and  there  can  be  none  other,  the  truth,  the 

WHOLE  truth,  and  NOTHING  BUT  THE  TRUTH. 

What  that  truth  is,  is  matter  of  inquiry  to  learn, 
and  matter  of  duty  to  inquire  :  what  in  any 
individual  case  it  will  result  in,  depends  upon 
the  care  and  diligence  of  the  search  ;  but  the 
Christian  who  ventures  to  advance  any  other 
principle  than  that  of  *  truth,'  is  a  traitor  to  the 
cause  he  professes  to  advocate  ;  he  opens  the 
gates  to  the  foe.  Thus  did  not  Bishop  Hobart : — 
and  the  Church  of  Christ  at  large,  by  what- 
ever name  known,  has  yet  to  learn  the  full  debt 
it  owes  to  him  who  stood  fearlessly  in  the  gap, 
and  fought  'a  good  fight'  against  that  insidious 
enemy  who  was  for  changing  the  Gospel  ban- 
ner from  truth,  to — liberality. 

This  uncompromising  tone  was  in  him  a  Chris- 
tian, not  a  sectarian  spirit,  and  they  who  deemed 
it  such,  still  more  they  who  inveighed  against  it 
as  such,  and  would  luive  held  him  up  to  odium 
for  maintaining  it,  do  now  owe  to  him,  yea, 
rather  (o  themselves,  an  *  honorable  amend'  for 
such  misconstruction. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  273 

This  exposition  of  the  principle  on  which  lie 
went  bears  upon  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  ;  it  is 
referred  to  here  in  order  to  account  for  what 
would  otherwise  appear  a  striking  inconsistency 
in  his  course,  in  the  General  Convention  of  this 
year,  in  relation  to  the  proposition  of  a  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  under  its  control.  After  urging  for 
years,  by  every  means,  the  establishment  of  such 
an  institution  for  the  Church,  when  the  very 
measure  itself  was  moved  in  the  General  Con- 
vention, he  opposed  it.  How  can  this  be  ex- 
plained ] 

'  It  is  proper,'  said  he,  in  reporting  those  proceedings 
to  the  State  Convention  of  this  year,  '  that  on  the 
subject  of  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Convention  I 
should  remark,  tkat  the  opposition  from  the  deputation 
of  the  Church  in  New- York  to  the  establishment  of  a 
general  theological  seminary,  by  an  act  of  that  body,  did 
not  arise  from  disaffection  to  a  measure  of  vital  import- 
ance to  the  Church,  but  from  an  opinion  that  the  same 
object  could  be  accomplished  on  the  most  correct  and 
enlarged  principles  and  views,  by  private  concert  and 
co-operation  among  the  influential  friends  of  the  Church 
in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  without  encountering 
many  difficulties  to  which  the  measure  would  be  liable, 
if  taken  up  under  present  circumstances  by  the  General 
Convention.  At  the  next  meeting  of  that  body  they 
will  doubtless  be  in  possession  of  such  facts  as  will 
enable  them  to  come  to  a  decision  on  this  important 
subject.'  * 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1814,  p.  11. 


274  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

The  objection  here  hinted  at  is  easily  made 
clear :  he  feared,  in  the  then  state  of  the 
Cliurch,  compromitting  its  principles  by  putting 
the  control  of  an  institution,  that  was  to  give 
tone  to  its  doctrines  and  discipline,  into  the 
hands  of  the  General  Convention.  He  deemed 
it  safer,  and  therefore  wiser,  to  pursue  the  object 
for  a  time,  where  there  would  be  unity  of  coun- 
sel, and  greater  security  for  sound  teaching. 
On  this  point,  his  letter  introducing  Dr.  Moore 
to  his  friend  in  Virginia,  (p.  267,)  may  be  referred 
to  in  further  explanation.  This  was  his  motive; 
for  in  after-years,  when  he  esteemed  those  dan- 
gers comparatively  past,  he  then  united  in 
placing  the  seminary  actually,  where,  theoreti- 
cally, lie  had  always  thought  that  it  should  be, 
provided  it  could  be  safely  done,  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  general  authorities  of  the  Church. 

This  course  of  Bishop  Hobart's  was  then,  and 
has  often  been  since  charged  with  inconsistency  ; 
it  is  such  inconsistency  as  is  chargeable  upon  the 
sagacious  pilot,  who  varies  his  course  to  avoid 
the  rocks  that  lie  in  it.  It  is  the  end  aimed  at 
w^herein  the  wise  and  good  mind  is  to  be  tested, 
all  else,  within  the  limits  of  Christian  probity, 
is  a  question  of  prudence  and  of  expediency  ; 
and  he  is  the  wisest  ruler,  and  the  safest  pilot, 
who  is  wary  as  to  his  course,  and  inflexible  only 
as  to  *  the  haven  where  he  would  be.' 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  275 

As  the  General  Convention  of  this  year  was 
the  first,  after  his  consecration,  in  which  Bishop 
Hobart  appeared  in  the  House  of  Bishops,  a  few 
words  are  due  to  the  standing  he  took,  and  the 
course  he  pursued  in  it.  Of  the  first,  an  inci- 
dental proof  was  given,  the  very  day  on  which 
that  body  opened  its  sittings.  Bishop  Claggett, 
of  Maryland,  was  to  have  preached,  on  that 
occasion,  the  Convention  Sermon.  Sickness 
prevented  his  attendance.  Bishop  Hobart,  from 
the  confidence  reposed  in  his  sound  judgment 
and  ready  talent,  was  unanimously  requested  to 
assume  the  duty,  and,  at  a  *  very  short  notice,' 
gave,  not  only  an  able  discourse,  but  one  highly 
appropriate  to  the  solemn  act  with  which  it 
opened,  viz.,  the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  for 
the  Diocese  of  Virginia.  This  was  the  Rev.  R. 
Channing  Moore,  the  same  he  had  before  intro- 
duced to  his  Virginia  friend.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  this  sermon  was  immediately  printed, 
bearing  the  title  of  '  The  Origin,  General  Char- 
acter, and  Present  Condition  of  the  Church.' 
What  was  thus  hastily  prepared,  it  is  hardly 
fair  to  try  by  a  very  strict  standard.  It  was, 
however,  highly  praised.  A  review  of  it,  shortly 
after  published,  thus  terminates  its  eulogium  : — 

'  We  could  dwell  with  great  pleasure  upon  the  con- 
clusion of  this  sermon,  which  reviews  the  causes  of 
congratulation  to  the  friends  of  our  communion,  and 


27o  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

especially  upon  the  application  which  is  made  to  the 
occasion  of  the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  for  the  Diocese 
of  Virginia.  The  manner  in  which  the  preacher  speaks 
of  the  Church  in  Virginia,  so  long  descending  from  her 
once  splendid  and  flourishing  state,  and  his  address  to 
the  candidate  for  the  Episcopate,  are  equalled  only  by 
the  tenderness  and  sublimity  of  that  solemn  office  of  the 
Church  by  which  the  Episcopal  authority  is  conferred. 
We  cannot  take  leave  of  this  discourse  without  ex- 
pressing the  wish  that  it  might  be  printed  in  a  very 
cheap  form,  for  the  purpose  of  circulating  it  as  a  reli- 
gious tract.  In  our  humble  opinion  a  more  useful  one 
could  not  be  found.'  * 

The  passage  above  alluded  to,  in  relation  to 
the  desolated  condition  of  the  Church  in  Vir^ 
ginia,  is  as  follows  : — 

'  The  edifices  where  their  fathers  worshipped,  now 
in  a  state  of  ruin,  fix  the  astonished  gaze,  and  excite  the 
mournful  sigh  of  the  passing  traveller;  and,  in  those 
courts  where  the  living  God  was  once  invoked,  and  the 
message  of  mercy  through  his  Son  proclaimed,  no 
sounds  are  heard,  but  the  screams  of  the  bird  of  night 
or  the  lowings  of  the  beast  of  the  field.  It  was  not  pos- 
sible that  this  state  of  things  could  long  continue. 
Man  does  not  feel  himself  safe,  even  with  his  fellow- 
man,  loosened  from  the  restraints  of  religion.  He  can- 
not live  without  its  consolations.  He  cannot  enter  on 
futurity  without  its  hopes.  But  the  night  of  adversity 
has  passed,  and  the  morning,  I  would  fain  hope,  of  a  long 
and  splendid  day  is  dawning  on  the  Church  in  Virginia.'  t 

*  '  Churchman's  Magazine/  vol.  ii.  p.  294. 
t  Pp.  35,  36. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  277 

Of  the  immediate  cause  of  this  sudden  over- 
throw, mention  has  been  aheady  made  ;  the 
forfeiture  of  the  glebe  lands  which,  throughout 
the  colony,  had  been  appropriated  to  its  support. 
This  decision,  looking  to  the  great  principles  of 
law,  was,  unquestionably,  an  illegal  one,  and  so 
regarded,  even  at  the  time,  by  their  ablest  law- 
yers. That  Patrick  Henry,  notwithstanding 
the  slur  often  cast  upon  him  of  trimming  to  the 
popular  gale,  fought  strenuously  against  it,  and 
against  the  blind  fury  which  led  to  it,  is  well 
known,  but  that  it  was  at  length  carried  through 
by  one  of  those  mysterious  dispensations  of  Pro- 
vidence that,  humanly  speaking,  *  puzzle  the 
will,'  is  a  fact,  probably  new  to  most  of  our 
readers.  It  was  communicated  to  the  author, 
many  years  since,  by  the  late  Judge  Pendleton, 
of  Hyde  Park,  nephew  to  the  elder  Edmund 
Pendleton,  of  Virginia,  to  whom  the  fact  related. 
The  '  case'  of  the  glebe  lands,  after  going  through 
the  inferior  courts  in  Virginia,  had  at  length 
come  up,  for  final  adjudication,  before  the  High 
Court  of  Appeal,  in  that  State.  This  court 
consisted  of  three  judges,  of  whom  Judge  Pen- 
dleton was  one,  holding,  by  seniority,  the  rank 
of  President ;  his  own  opinion  was  in  favor  of 
the  Church,  his  two  associates  were  divided. 
The    opinion    of  the   Court  was,   therefore,  to 

confirm  the  Church  title  ;  but  such  opinion  was 
Bb 


278  M  E  M  O  I  R     OF 

not  yet  a  decision.  The  morning-  of  the  final 
sentence  arrived,  when  Judge  Pendleton  was 
found  dead  in  his  bed  ;  a  stroke  of  apoplexy,  in 
the  night,  had  broken  the  feeble  hold  of  life 
which  belongs  to  an  old  man  of  fourscore,  and 
in  his  pocket  was  found  prepared,  and  ready 
for  delivery,  the  decree  of  the  Court,  confirming, 
beyond  appeal  or  reversal,  the  rights  of  the 
Church.  Had  he  lived  to  pronounce  the  words, 
the  decree  would  have  been  good ;  as  it  stood, 
it  was  but  an  act  inchoate  ;  the  opinion  of  the 
Court,  now  composed  of  two,  was  divided,  and 
therefore  null.  Thereupon  the  decree  of  the 
lower  court  took  effect,  which  went  to  escheat 
all  such  lands  and  tenements  upon  the  demise, 
or  removal  of  the  actual  incumbents.  Thus 
fell  the  Church  in  Virginia,  at  least  in  its  out- 
ward strength  ;  but  may  not  an  increase  of 
inward  have  been  the  blessing  intended  and 
gained  by  it  ?  Thus,  at  least,  must  the  Chris- 
tian think,  and  the  Churchman  pray. 

Among  the  evils  induced  upon  the  Church  in 
Virginia  by  its  long  decline,  was  a  diminished 
regard  for  the  Liturgy.  With  that,  simple- 
hearted  boldness  which  gives  no  offence,  be- 
cause it  means  none,  the  preacher  went  on  to 
urge  the  duties  of  the  clergy,  as  its  appointed 
guardians.  *  Where  individual  judgment,'  says 
he,   *  is  substituted    for   public   authority,   and 


BISHOP     HOBART.  279 

when  private  fancy  moulds  the  service  at  plea- 
sure, all  security  is  lost  for  its  preservation. 
Who  shall  direct,  or  who  shall  restrain,  when 
private  judgment  has  wrested  the  reins  from 
public  law?  What  part  of  the  service  is  secure 
when  the  almost  infinitely  varying  judgments  of 
men  are  permitted  to  alter.'  It  is  pleasing  to 
reflect  that  this  long  threatening  evil  is  fast 
passing  from  our  Church,  and  that  conformity 
to  the  Liturgy,  on  all  public  occasions,  is  now 
felt  to  be  among  the  strongest  moral  obligations 
of  the  clergyman. 

The  presiding  Bishop  on  this  occasion  was 
the  venerable  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  that 
apostolic  father  of  so  many  spiritual  sons. 
With  what  feelings  the  preacher  looked  upon 
that  revered  head  may  be  judged  from  his 
terming  him,  '  the  friend,  the  guide,  the  patron 
of  his  early  years.' 

In  the  course  of  the  sermon,  Bishop  Hobart 
entered  upon  the  subject  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  of  the  connection  of  our  communion 
with  it,  *  ventiuing,'  says  the  reviewer,  '  upon 
tender  ground  ; '  but  in  this  the  critic  was  mis- 
taken. To  men  like  Bishop  Hobart,  of  a  single- 
liearted  sincerity,  no  ground  is  *  tender,'  and  no 
language  is  *  venturous.'  He  admired,  he  vene- 
rated the  Church  of  England,  but  it  was  in  her 
purely  spiritual  character,  and  where  he  loved 


280  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

and  approved,  he  never  feared  to  praise.  Right 
in  this,  as  in  most  other  things,  for  misconstruc- 
tion will  generally  be  found  to  grow  out  of  cau- 
tion, and  men  suspect  whom  they  see  to  fear 
lest  they  excite  suspicion. 

The  views  of  Bishop  Hobart,  with  regard  to 
the  Church  of  England,  needed  no  concealment; 
to  him  she  was  but  the  channel  through  which 
pure  doctrine  and  apostolic  institutions  had  come 
down  to  us  from  the  primitive  Church,  the  purer 
branch  of  a  mighty  river,  of  which  the  Church 
of  Rome  was  the  larger  and  the  muddier ;  for 
he  ever  maintained  that  the  Church  of  England 
took  not  its  rise  at  the  Reformation,  but  simply 
then  cleansed  itself,  from  what  one  of  its  old 
bishops  (Hall)  well  calls  *  the  untempered  mortar 
of  new  inventions  ; '  or  to  use  the  language  of 
the  learned,  and  certainly  not  partial,  Mosheim, 
it  was  '  the  correction  of  the  old  religion.' 

On  this  point,  his  biographer  w^ell  remembers 
the  Bishop  urging  this  subject  upon  him  while 
a  student  of  divinity,  and  directing  him  to  the 
various  publications  in  the  *  Scholar  Armed,'  in 
proof  of  the  ante-papal  origin  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  Britain. 

In  this  light  Bishop  Hobart  feared  not  to 
speak  of  her  with  a  veneration,  second  only  to 
the  pure  faith  of  which  she  has  so  long  been  the 
bulwark.     He  looked  upon  her,  in  short,  with 


BISHOP     HOBART.  281 

the  same  feelings  that  he  afterward  did  upon 
her  own  majestic  cathedral  piles,  with  here  and 
there  perhaps  the  rust  of  age,  or  some  stain  of 
neglect  upon  the  walls,  but,  taken  all  together, 
alike  venerable  and  beautiful.  Thus  looked  he 
upon  the  Church  of  England, 

Founded  in  truth  ;  by  blood  of  martyrdom 
Cemented ;  by  the  hands  of  wisdom  reared 
In  beauty  of  holiness ;  with  ordered  pomp, 
Decent  and  unreproved. 

So  far,  in  truth,  was  he  from  the  vulgar  admira- 
tion of  her  establishment,  that  with  him  that 
was  her  weakness  which  most  esteemed  her 
strength, — connection  with  the  State.  But  in 
this,  too,  he  held  the  language  of  her  own  better 
sons,  and  we  commend  it  to  them  in  this  their 
day  of  trouble, 

'  The  Church  in  England,'  says  the  old-fashioned  and 
pure-hearted  Leslie,  will  stand  whether  the  State  will 
it  or  not :  unless  the  clergy  themselves  give  way,  so  far 
as  to  provoke  God  to  remove  their  candlestick,  nothing 
else  can  ruin  them  ;  while  they  remain  true  to  their 
God,  and  are  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 
to  assert  those  powers  which  He  has  committed  to  them, 
no  enchantment  will  prevail  against  Israel  ;  no,  none, 
till  themselves  are  first  enchanted  and  bewitched,  as 
were  the  foolish  Galatians,  not  to  obey  the  truth,  not  to 
stand  by  it,  and  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which 
was  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  not  to  speak,  and  ex- 
hort, and  rebuke,  with  all  authority,  and  to  let  "  no  man 

Bb2 


283  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

despise  them,"  for  then  God  will  despise  them,  and  make 
them  contemptible  and  base  before  all  the  people,  "  be- 
cause ye  have  corrupted  the  covenant  of  Levi,  saith  the 
Lord  of  Hosts."  '  * 

In  the  course  of  this  same  year  (September  1) 
Bishop  Hobart  united  in  the  consecration  of 
another  of  his  brethren,  the  Rev.  James  Kemp, 
D.  D.,  for  the  Diocese  of  Maryland,  being  the 
second  in  the  list  of  its  Bishops.  Its  first,  the 
Right  Rev.  Thomas  John  Claggett,  bore  the 
honorable  distinction  of  being  the  first  of  Ameri- 
can Bishops  consecrated  within  our  own  borders. 
The  present  consecration,  in  which  Bishop  Ho- 
bart assisted,  was  held  in  Christ  Church,  New- 
Brunswick  ;  the  scene  of  his  own  early  parochial 
labors. 

The  influence  of  Bishop  Hobart  in  the  House 
of  Bishops  was  that,  which,  in  an  assembly  of 
equals,  is  due  to  one  of  undoubted  integrity  of 
purpose,  and  a  more  than  ordinary  share  of  wise 
judgment  and  practical  talent.  This  again  was 
still  further  advanced  by  a  candor  and  personal 
conciliation  which  never  permitted  opposition  to 
grow  up  into  enmity.  That  some  opposition  of 
views  there  was,  is  not  to  be  denied  :  while 
he  dreaded  laxity,  others  dreaded  over-strict- 
ness, so   that  unquestionably,  for  many  years, 

♦  Preface  to  case  of  Regale,  &c. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  283 

he  feared  to  see  too  much  power  intrusted  to 
doubtful,  or  at  any  rate  untried  hands.  In  this 
he  was  wary,  perhaps  wise  ;  for  our  ecclesias- 
tical union,  like  our  political  one,  was  but  an 
experiment,  and  time  and  experience  alone  could 
tell  where  lay  its  weak  points.  This  analogy 
between  the  two  was  a  subject  Bishop  Hobart 
often  dwelt  upon,  as  an  illustration  of  practical 
wisdom  in  the  framers  of  our  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution, that  they  had  so  accommodated  it ; 
generally  accompanying  such  eulogy,  however, 
with  a  caution,  not  to  confound  the  government 
of  the  Church  with  its  ministry.  The  former 
was  human,  the  latter  was  divine;  the  former 
was  in  its  details  a  question  of  expediency,  for 
the  Church  in  every  age  to  settle  ;  the  latter  a 
scriptural  question,  at  all  times  obligatory.  The 
nature,  limits,  and  working  of  this  system  were, 
however,  yet  to  be  learned,  or  rather,  from  the 
simplicity  of  its  constitution,  to  be  actually 
formed,  as  new  cases  called  for  legislation  in  it. 
Its  very  fundamental  principle  then  hung,  not 
to  say  yet  hangs,  in  doubt,  how  far  we  are  to  be 
regarded  as  a  consolidated  Church,  having  an 
inward  and  living  unity,  or  simply,  as  a  confe- 
deration of  independent  dioceses.  That  the  for- 
mer is  the  true  view  of  our  condition,  another 
opportunity  may  come  for  showing,  suffice  it  at 
present  to  say,  that  under  the  guidance  of  the 


284  MEMOIR     OF 

spirit  of  peace,  the  counsels  of  its  united  legis- 
lature have  been  thus  far  guided  to  good  ;  that 
the  Church  has  not  only  enlarged  *  its  borders, 
but  consolidated  its  strength  ;  that  internal 
unity  has  been  reached  not  by  compromise^  but 
upon  principle  ;  and  that  it  now  stands  forth  to 
the  world  in  its  one  and  undivided  character, 
prominent  among  the  national  pure  branches  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  How  far  Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  labors  tended  to  this  result,  let  others 
judge,  his  biographer  would  only  say,  that  were 
he  now  living  he  would  be  '  heart  and  hand  '  for 
advancing  this  common  cause. 


But  the  *  address  '  of  this  year  affords  other 
topics  of  interest.  After  enumerating  the  pa- 
rishes in  which  he  had  administered  confirma- 
tion, he  proceeds  ; 

'  I  derived  high  gratification,  particularly  on  some  of 
these  occasions,  from  perceiving  the  great  advantages  of 
this  apostolic  rite,  considered  even  in  the  more  subordi- 
nate view  of  affording  the  minister  of  every  congregation 
a  most  favorable  opportunity,  which  fidelity  to  his 
charge  calls  on  him  to  embrace,  of  impressing  upon  his 
people  generally,  and  especially  upon  the  young,  the 
concerns  of  their  salvation,  and   the   obligations   and 

*  The  House  of  Bishops  at  his  election  consisted  of  four,  now 
(1836)  of  sixteen  members. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  285 

privileges  of  that  holy  covenant  into  which  they  were 
admitted  by  baptism. 

In  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Staten-Island,  one  hundred 
and  forty  persons  received  confirmation.  In  St.  John's 
Church,  Yonkers,  I  beheld  the  interesting  spectacle  of 
near  eighty  young  people,  apparently  between  the  ages 
of  fourteen  and  twenty,  coming  forward  to  renew  their 
baptismal  vows,  and  to  devote  themselves  to  their  God 
and  Saviour ;  and  I  perceived  in  their  attendance,  and 
in  the  devotion  and  seriousness  which  they  manifested, 
the  blessing  which  had  followed  the  labors  of  their 
respectable  Rector,  who,  for  several  weeks  previous  to 
the  administration  of  this  rite,  had  been  occupied  in 
visiting  every  family  of  an  extensive  parish,  with  the 
view  of  addressing  them  on  the  nature  and  obligation 
of  this  sacred  ordinance,  and  of  preparing  them  for  it. 
The  congregation  of  St.  James',  Hyde  Park,  which 
originally  consisted  of  a  few  select  families,  has  been 
greatly  increased  in  number,  by  the  assiduous  labors  of 
its  Rector,  who  has  been  particularly  attentive  to  cate- 
chetical instruction,  not  merely  in  the  church,  but  in  his 
parochial  visits  to  the  families  and  the  schools  of  his 
parish.  The  same  methods  I  am  confident  have  been 
pursued  in  other  instances,  which  could  be  enumerated ; 
and  they  are  an  evidence  of  the  blessing  which  will 
attend  the  regular  and  faithful  labors  of  a  minister.  * 

A  rite  thus  highly  esteemed  by  him  was  not 
likely  to  be  lightly  performed,  and  if  the  author 
is  to  be  charged  with  needlessly  inserting  words 
of  affectionate   praise  in  reference   to  his  own 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1814.  pp.  13,  14, 


^Q  MEMOIROF 

labors,  he  finds  his  apology  in  the  opportunity  it 
affords  of  giving  the  picture  of  the  Bishop's  per- 
formance of  this  apostolic  rite,  on  the  occasion 
alluded  to,  in  the  author's  parish  church  at 
Hyde  Park. 

In  the  sermon  there  delivered,  and  he  always 
preached  himself,  the  Bishop  explained  and  en- 
forced the  nature,  origin,  and  obligation  of  the 
rite  of  confirmation,  with  a  clearness  and  force 
that  brought  it  home  to  the  understandings  and 
consciences  of  all  ;  preparing  the  minds  of  those 
about  to  receive  it,  and  awakening  those  who 
already  had,  to  a  deeper  sense  of  duly.  This 
was  from  the  pulpit,  and  addressed  to  all.  But 
after  the  rite  was  administered,  seating  himself 
near  the  altar,  and  surrounded  by  those  who 
had  just  received  his  apostolic  benediction,  like 
a  father  encircled  by  his  children,  he  proceeded 
to  address  them  specially  on  the  covenant  into 
which  they  had  just  entered. 

The  author,  indeed,  can  call  to  mind  few  scenes 
of  deeper  pathos  than  the  one  he  saw  exhibited 
on  that  occasion.  The  youthful  circle,  unbon- 
neted  and  bare-headed,  with  here  and  theie  one 
in  middle  or  advanced  life  among  their  number, 
deeming  it  becoming  thus  *  to  fulfil  all  righteous- 
ness ' — the  young,  with  streaming  eyes,  trem- 
bling and  agitated,  some  to  the  very  verge  of 
sinking  beneath  their  feelings — the  interested 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  287 

and  eager  circle  behind  of  parents  and  friends, 
and  congregation,  hanging,  as  it  were,  upon  the 
words  of  their  spiritual  father — all  tended  to 
form  a  picture  lovely  to  the  eye  of  the  philan- 
thropist, and  overpowering  to  that  of  the 
Christian. 

His  address  was  simple,  earnest,  and  affec- 
tionate.    It  concluded  in  these  words  : 

Christians!  use  the  means  of  grace,  and  you  will  ob- 
tain victory.  Read  the  vjord  of  God  with  humility, 
with  reverence,  with  the  sincere  purpose  of  applying  all 
its  truths,  precepts,  threats,  and  promises  to  your  in- 
struction, your  consolation,  your  advancement  in  holi- 
ness and  virtue. 

Lift  up  your  souls  to  God  in  prayer  and  praise.  By 
stated  devotions,  as  the  morn  of  every  day  renews  the 
goodness  of  your  Almighty  Benefactor,  and  its  close 
finds  you  subjected  to  infirmities  and  sins,  by  the  secret 
ejaculations  of  your  hearts  in  the  midst  of  the  duties, 
the  trials,  disappointments,  and  innocent  enjoyments  of 
life,  to  Him  who  only  can  direct  you,  and  keep  you  from 
falling ;  maintain  intercourse  v/ith  Heaven — you  will 
be  strengthened  to  resist  temptation ;  you  will  be  ani- 
mated in  your  Christian  course ;  and  you  will  be  raised 
above  this  transitory  world,  with  the  hope  of  those 
eternal  glories  prepared  for  you  in  the  kingdom  of  your 
God.* 

Go  then  —  ye  are  servants  of  Jesus  Christ — it  is  a 
title   infinitely  more   honorable   than   any  which  the 

•  '  Candidate  for  Confirmation,'  &c.,  pp.  107,  108. 


288  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

world  can  bestow — for  he  is  now  the  King  of  glory, 
and  hereafter  he  will  be  the  Judge  of  nations.  Ye  are 
candidates  for  immortality.  Go — God  is  your  Friend 
and  Father ;  Jesus  Christ  is  your  Intercessor  and 
Saviour  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  is  your  Comforter.  What 
more,  Christians,  can  you  require  to  animate  and  en- 
courage you !  Heaven  is  in  view  !  Fight  a  good  fight ; 
keep  the  faith  ;  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge,  at  the 
day  of  his  appearing,  will  give  you  a  crown  of  glory.  * 

Of  the  blessed  influence  of  the  apostolic  rite 
on  this  occasion,  the  author  can  speak,  he  thinks, 
with  confidence,  and  no  doubt  it  was  equally  so 
on  others — for  it  is  observed  by  Dr.  Berrian,  that 
on  such  occasions,  '  very  often,  indeed,  a  large 
part  of  the  congregation  was  melted  into  tears. 'f 


On  the  subject  of  the  scriptural  use  of  the 
Liturgy,  Bishop  Hobart  had  become  year  by  year 
more  and  more  impressive  in  his  addresses  to  the 
Convention,  in  proportion  as  he  felt  and  saw  the 
necessity  of  some  barrier  against  the  spirit  of 
wild  fanaticism  :  his  language  this  year  was 
warm  and  from  the  heart. 

'  But,'  says  he,  '  my  clerical  and  lay  brethren,  I  should 
enjoy  little  satisfaction  in  congratulating  you  on  the 

*  '  Candidate  for  Confirmation/  &c.,  pp.  110,  111. 
+  Memoir,  p.  147. 


BISHOPHOBART.  289 

increasing  attachment  to  the  distinctive  principles  of  our 
Church,  and  veneration  for  her  institutions,  if  I  could 
not  also  congratulate  you  on  the  increase  of  that  evan- 
gelical piety  which  these  principles  and  institutions, 
when  faithfully  observed  and  practised,  are  calculated 
to  produce.  He  indeed  must  entertain  very  inferior 
and  erroneous  notions  of  the  nature  and  design  of  the 
ordinances  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  high  objects  of  the 
ministerial  calling,  who  does  not  extend  their  influence 
to  the  excitement  and  preservation  of  the  power  of  god- 
liness ;  of  that  vital  and  productive  faith,  which,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  renewing  the  soul,  and 
conforming  the  life  to  the  holy  standard  of  Christian 
morals,  can  alone  authorize  the  elevated  hope,  that  we 
are  the  subjects  of  God's  favor,  and  in  a  state  of  pre- 
paration for  his  kingdom  of  glory. 

'  It  is  cause  both  of  gratitude  and  boast,  that  what 
are  considered  by  some  the  dull  round  of  church  observ- 
ances, in  the  hands  of  a  faithful  and  zealous  minister, 
prove,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  effectual  in  converting 
sinners,  and  in  establishing  believers  in  the  holy  faith 
of  the  Gospel.  I  could  point  to  districts  in  which,  since 
the  period  of  little  more  than  twenty  years,  the  praises 
of  those  who  have  experienced  the  power  and  the  con- 
solations of  redeeming  mercy,  have  cheered  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitary  place.  I  could  point  there  to  many 
whom  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  has  made  free  from 
the  bondage  of  sin,  and  his  grace  adorned  with  the 
Christian  virtues.  And  these  blessed  effects  have  been 
produced  by  the  regular  and  faithful  use  of  the  forms  of 
our  Church,  (God  by  his  Spirit  accompanying  them,) 
and  of  these  forms  only.  I  have  seen  the  minister  of 
our  Church,  faithful  to  those  vows  which  he  made  at 
C  c 


290  MEMOIROF 

her  altar,  when  he  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  his 
divine  Master,  with  holy  ardor  offering  the  prescribed 
service  of  the  sanctuary  ;  and  in  the  family,  and  the 
private  circle,  animating  and  exalting  their  devotions 
by  the  fervent  language  of  the  Liturgy.  I  have  seen 
him  training  up  the  lambs  of  his  fold,  by  instructing 
them  in  the  simple  and  evangelical  formularies  which 
the  Church  has  provided.  I  have  seen  him  teaching 
from  house  to  house ;  and  exhorting  his  people  to  main- 
tain communion  with  God,  not  only  in  his  public  ordi- 
nances, but  in  the  exercises  of  pious  reading  and  medita- 
tion, and  of  secret  and  constant  prayer.  To  these 
important  parochial  labors  I  have  seen  him  add  fidelity, 
affection,  and  fervor  in  preaching  the  sacred  word.  In 
times  of  more  than  usual  seriousness,  and  more  than 
common  attention  to  divine  things,  he  has  increased  his 
attention  to  these  private  and  public  means  of  grace. 
And  they  have  been  blessed  in  the  revival  of  a  spirit  of 
piety,  congenial  with  the  scriptural  and  apostolic  doc- 
trines and  ordinances  of  the  Church,  and  which,  there- 
fore, we  may  trust,  would  not  have  disgraced  her  purest 
days.'  * 

The  importance  of  forms  of  prayer  is  a  ques- 
tion that  now  needs  no  longer  argument.  The 
different  fate  that  has  attended  Protestant 
Churches,  with  and  without  that  guard,  has 
for  ever  settled  it,  and  the  daily  widening  adop- 
tion of  liturgical  forms,  by  those  once  hostile  to 
them,  is  a  full  acknowledgment  of  their  value. 
Among  recent  instances  illustrative  of  this  con- 

♦  Journal  of  Convention,  1814,  pp.  16,  17. 


BISHOP      IIOBART.  fUSl 

viction,  are  the  orthodox  dissenting  Churches  in 
England,  and  the  Baptist  missionaries  in  India  : 
the  one  adopting  them  as  the  best  means  of 
securing,  the  other  of  teaching  the  pure  Chris- 
tian faith.  On  this  point,  Bishop  Hobart  took 
what  was  then  termed  high  ground,  but  what  the 
Christian  world  now  admits  to  he  just  ground,  the 
value,  nay,  rather  the  necessity  of  a  scriptural 
liturgy.  The  rampant  heresies  of  an  unbridled 
enthusiasm,  and  the  unchristianized  Christianity 
of  cold  Socinianism,  have  taught  the  Christian 
world,  at  least  this  lesson.  The  commendations 
passed  upon  the  Liturgy  by  Adam  Clarke,  Robert 
Hall,  and  men  of  that  stamp  from  without,  are 
well  known.  The  answer  of  one  within,  deserves 
to  be  recorded  in  connection  with  them.  On 
their  opinions  being  quoted  to  the  late  Bishop 
Dehon,  of  South-Carolina,  as  great  concessions, 
his  reply,  equally  novel  and  just,  was,  '  He  who 
praises  the  Liturgy,  praises  himself;  he  does 
but  pay  a  compliment  to  his  own  taste  and 
judgment.'* 


But  to  turn  again  to  more  domestic  scenes. 
The  following  letter  from  Bishop  Hobart  affords 
pleasing  proof  that  his  was  a  religion  of  the  heart. 


•  Gadsden's  Life  of  Dehon. 


292  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 


TO  C.  F.   M. 


'Neio-York,  March  17,  1815. 
My  dearest  Mercer, 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Dunn,  which  fills  me  with  most  agonizing  apprehen- 
sions for  my  beloved  friend.  Though  he  states  that  the 
physicians  think  you  have  passed  the  crisis  of  your  dis- 
order, yet  still  your  situation  was  such  as  to  excite  the 
most  painful  solicitude.  Yet  God  has  sent  this  visitation 
in  mercy  :  there  was  only  one  thing  wanting  to  make  my 
friend  one  of  the  most  perfect  of  men,  the  experience  of 
the  renovating  power  of  religion,  a  lively  sensibility  to 
his  need  of  the  mercy  and  grace  of  God,  through  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  This  greatest  of  blessings  you 
have  now  attained,  and  I  trust  it  has  been  followed  by 
that  lively  view  of  the  fulness  of  divine  mercy,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  all-sufficiency  of  the  merits  of 
him  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost, 
which  diffuses  through  the  soul  a  peace  that  the  world 
"  can  neither  give  nor  take  away."  Your  future  life — 
and  oh,  may  God  long  spare  it — Avill,  I  trust,  be  devoted 
to  the  active  service  of  Him  who  hath  "  loved  you,  and 
washed  you  from  your  sins  in  his  own  blood." 

Mr.  Dunn  informs  me  that  your  first  exclamation  on 
seeing  him  was  that  the  Prayer-book  had  been  your 
comfort.  Let  me  beseech  you,  my  dear  Mercer,  continue 
to  value  it ;  make  the  Bible  and  the  Prayer-book  your 
companions.  AVhile  in  the  affecting  service  for  the 
communion  you  acknowledge  that  the  "  remembrance 
of  your  sins  is  grievous  unto  you,  and  the  burthen  into- 
lerable," then  hear  addressed  unto  you  the  language  of 
your  Saviour,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor,  and  I 


BISHOP     HOBART.  293 

will  give  you  rest."  Do  not,  my  dear  Mercer,  distrust 
the  love  of  God  ;  that  love  which  gave  his  only  Son  to 
die  for  you.  Do  not  distrust  the  love  of  your  Redeemer; 
that  love  which  endured  for  you  an  agony  and  bloody 
sweat,  a  cross  and  its  passion.  Be  assured  your  God  is 
more  ready  to  receive  you  than  you  can  possibly  be  to 
go  unto  him. 

That  God  may  bless  you,  is  the  fervent  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate, 

John  H.  Hobart.' 

To  this  the  following  touching  answer  was 
immediately  returned. 

FROM  C.   P.  M. 

'  Locust  Hill,  near  Leesburgh,  Va.,  March  24,  1815. 

My  beloved  Hobart's  letter  did  not  reach  me  until 
last  Tuesday,  and  I  make  a  great  effort  to  day  to  write 
a  few  lines  in  reply  to  it,  that  our  mail,  which  travels 
but  once  in  the  week  to  the  north,  may  take  charge  of 
them  to-morrow. 

My  body  is  wasted  to  a  skeleton,  and  my  mind  is,  I 
believe,  impaired.  My  memory  of  what  passes  in  the 
day  is  much  so ;  but  it  pleases  Almighty  God  still  to 
support  me.  Half  my  time  I  spend  in  communion  with 
him  ;  in  deploring  my  past  transgressions,  and  pleading 
for  his  forgiveness,  through  the  merits,  and  in  the  name 
of  our  blessed  vSaviour.  I  use  in  the  morning  and  even- 
ing, with  the  assistance  of  a  friend,  the  form  of  family 
prayer  provided  by  our  Church  ;  and  have  read  to  me 
through  the  day,  when  my  strength  will  permit  me  to 
listen  to  advantage,  passages  of  the  New  Testament.  I 
C  c2 


294  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

have  got  through  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  and  as  far  as 
twenty  chapters  in  that  of  St.  Matthew. 

Mr.  Dunn  has  again  been  to  see  me,  and  was  so 
kind  as  to  remain  with  me  several  days.  I  was  much 
worse  after  his  first  visit.  For  ten  days,  I  expected 
twice  in  each  day  to  breathe  my  last.  It  is  only  within 
a  few  days  past  that  I  have  thought  my  recovery  proba- 
ble. I  have  now  reached  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  my 
confinement,  but,  much  as  I  have  suffered,  dearest  Ho- 
bart,  I  would  not  exchange  my  present  situation  to 
obliterate  all  that  has  passed  in  those  days  of  bodily  and 
mental  anguish,  and  to  be  restored  to  perfect  health 
again.  Humility  and  resignation,  and  the  blessed  as- 
surance that  my  numerous  sins  and  transgressions  are 
forgiven,  have  made  my  sick  bed,  a  bed  of  roses,  my 
pillow,  the  pillow  of  repose. 

To  have  had  you,  my  beloved  friend,  to  soothe,  to 
console,  and  guide  my  often  sinking  and  wandering 
spirit,  during  this  trial,  would  have  been  the  first  wish 
of  my  heart.  But  a  merciful  God  has  provided  me  with 
some  pious  friends,  on  whose  bosoms  I  have  wept  tears 
of  indescribable  joy.  The  happiest  hours  of  my  life 
have  been  spent  in  this  darkened  chamber. 

My  love  to  your  family,  dearest  Hobart,  and  may 
Almighty  God  of  his  infinite  mercy,  unite  us  again  in 
a  world  where  we  shall  not  be  separated,  either  by  our 
professions  or  our  abodes. 

Your  aJBfectionate, 

C.  F.  M.' 

The  following,  though  of  a  more  public 
nature,  shows  his  watchful  care  over  the  inter- 
ests of  his  flock. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  295 

TO   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  TAYLOR, 

'  New  •  York,  March  22,  1815. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  perceive,  by  the  newspapers,  that  a  bill  is  before 
the  Legislature  prohibiting  clergymen  from  solemnizing 
marriages,  except  in  the  counties  in  which  they  reside. 
Will  you  allow  me  to  state  to  you  the  great  inconve- 
niences to  which  this  provision  of  the  law  may  subject 
Episcopalians.  In  many  counties,  where  are  Episcopa- 
lians, there  is  no  Episcopal  clergyman.  The  contem- 
plated law  would  either  compel  them  to  travel  a  con- 
siderable distance,  to  the  residence  of  an  Episcopal  cler- 
gyman, and  thus  deprive  them  of  the  gratification  of 
being  married  at  home,  or  debar  them  from  tlie  privi- 
lege of  being  married  according  to  the  rites  of  their 
own  Church.  Two  cases  where  this  hardship  would 
have  been  felt  have  occurred  within  my  knowledge.  In 
the  course  of  my  visitations  of  the  Episcopal  congrega- 
tions through  the  State,  I  have  performed  the  marriage 
ceremony  for  two  clergymen,  one  resident  in  Onondaga, 
and  the  other  in  Washington  county.  They  Avere  the 
only  Episcopal  clergymen  in  those  counties,  and,  had 
the  contemplated  law  been  then  in  operation,  they 
would  have  been  compelled,  either  to  forego  the  conve- 
nience and  gratification  of  being  married  at  home,  and 
to  travel  a  considerable  distance  to  the  residence  of  an 
Episcopal  clergyman,  or  to  receive  marriage  contrary 
to  the  order  and  solemnities  of  their  own  Church. 

It  may  happen,  also,  that  the  church  and  residence  of  a 
clergyman  is  contiguous  to  one  or  more  counties,  in 
which  reside  many  of  his  congregation.  In  this  case  a 
clergyman  would  be  prohibited  from  going  to  the 
houses   of  some  of  his   own  parishioners  in  order    to 


296  MEMOIR     OF 

solemnize  marriage.  This  hardship  would  not  affect 
Episcopalians  alone.  Indeed,  the  inconveniences  gene- 
rally, would  be  felt  by  all  Christian  societies  who  have 
not  a  clergyman  in  every  county  in  the  State.  The 
Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  this  city  could  not  go  to 
Westchester,  where,  as  in  many  other  counties,  there  is 
no  Roman  Catholic  clergyman,  to  solemnize  marriage 
for  one  of  their  own  communion. 

If  the  sole  object  of  the  contemplated  provision  is  to 
secure  the  registry  of  marriages,  could  not  this  be  done, 
by  requiring  all  clergymen  to  have  their  marriages 
registered  in  the  counties,  respectively,  in  which  they 
were  celebrated. 

Begging  your  indulgence  for  the  liberty  which  I  take 
of  addressing  to  you  these  remarks, 

I  remain,  &c. 

J.  H.  HOBART.* 

Toward  his  old  college  President,  Dr.  Samuel 
Stanhope  Smith,  he  still  retained  those  feelings 
of  respectful  kindness  which  slioidd  ever  belong 
to  that  relation.  But  their  relative  position  was 
now  changed  ;  the  President,  whose  nod  once 
was  law,  had  sunk  into  age  and  poverty,  while 
his  warm-hearted  pupil  had  risen  into  rank  and 
influence.  Among  its  grateful  results  was  the 
ability  it  gave  of  befriending  one  to  whom  he 
owed  a  portion  of  that  greatest  debt  which  man 
can  owe  to  man — the  debt  of  a  well-disciplined 
mind.  The  following  letter  made  a  request 
which,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  was 
promptly  and  liberally  answered. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  297 

FROM   REV.  DR    SMITH. 

'  Princeton^  June  23,  1815. 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  being  at  the  head  of  one  Church,  and  I  a 
disabled  minister  in  another,  will  not  place  such  a  dis- 
tinction between  us  as  to  impair  our  friendship,  or  that 
of  my  former  friend.  Dr.  Howe.  I  do  not  hold  Chris- 
tianity on  such  narrow  grounds.  I  have  been  employ- 
ing the  irksome  leisure  of  my  indisposition  in  revising, 
and  preparing  for  the  press,  a  compendious  view  of  the 
principles  of  natural  and  revealed  religions,  with  the 
evidences  of  the  latter ;  the  substance  of  which  has 
been  many  years  used  in  the  college  to  a  small  theo- 
logical class.  The  principles  of  this  system,  though  a 
moderate  Calvinism  reigns  in  two  or  three  chapters,  are 
such,  I  persuade  myself,  as  will  meet  with  the  approba- 
tion of  those  gentlemen  Avho  accord  with  the  "  Christian 
Observer."  The  question  of  church  government  I  en- 
tirely avoid. 

Mr.  Hamilton  goes  into  your  city  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions for  this  work.  It  is  such,  I  presume,  as  to  involve 
no  interference  with  the  principles  of  your  Church.  I 
cannot  suppose  that  Mr.  Hamilton's  object  will  militate 
with  any  rule  you  may  have  thought  proper  to  adopt  on 
such  subjects.  I  should  be  happy  in  any  countenance  you 
may  think  it  decent  to  show  to  this  gentleman,  or  to  his 
object ;  but,  whatever  it  may  be,  shall  always,  with  the 
same  cordiality,  remain  your  friend. 
And  very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient,  and 

Most  humble  servant, 

Samuel  S.  Smith.' 


298  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
1815.— ^i.  40. 

Convention — Missionary  Cause — Outcry  against  Bishop  Hobart  as  an 
Enemy  to  Foreign  Missions — Explanation — Oneida  Indians — Mr. 
Williams — History — Bible  and  Common  Prayer-book  Societies  — 
'  Pastoral  Charge  '  on  the  subject — Letter  to  Episcopalians — Charges 
against  Bishop  Hobart — Explanation. 

The  Convention  of  this  year  continued  to 
evince  the  fruits  of  the  Bishop's  well-ordered 
zeal.  The  number  of  clergy  in  the  Diocese 
had  already  doubled  during  the  four  jears  of 
his  episcopate,  while  the  niunber  of  missionaries 
in  it  had  more  than  quadrupled.  Still,  how- 
ever, his  zeal  outran  his  success ;  and  '  (he 
wants  of  the  wilderness'  was  a  theme  still 
uppermost  in  his  heart  and  on  his  tongue. 

'  The  missionaries,'  says  he,  '  continue,  as 
usual,  faithful  and  diligent  in  their  important 
work.  It  is  impossible  to  appreciate  too  highly 
the  importance  of  their  exertions.'  Nor  were  the 
laity  wanting  on  their  part. 

'  There  have  been  instances  of  individuals,  possessing 
only  moderate  wealth,  who  have  given  the  tenth,  and 
the  eighth  part  of  their  property  to  the  building  of 
churches,  besides  liberal  contributions  in  the  same  pro- 
portion, to  the  support  of  the  clergy.     The  congrega- 


BISHOPHOBART.  299 

dons  of  our  Church,  it  should  be  recollected,  in  the  new 
settlements  particularly,  are  not  large  ;  and,  therefore, 
the  erection  of  buildings,  and  the  support  of  public 
worship,  fall  heavily  upon  them.  But  for  the  aid  that 
they  received  from  other  quarters,  and  particularly  as  it 
respects  the  support  of  clergymen  from  the  Missionary 
Fund,  the  scattered  Episcopalians  in  many  parts  of  the 
State  would  have  been  unable  to  establish  congrega- 
tions, and  to  obtain,  permanently,  the  worship  of  our 
Church.  I  mention  these  facts,  in  order  to  excite  their 
more  wealthy  and  favored  brethren,  particularly  in  the 
cities,  from  the  example  of  their  liberality,  to  contribute, 
in  generous  proportion  to  the  means  with  which  Provi- 
dence has  blessed  them,  to  the  diffusion  and  support  of 
that  Gospel  which  is  the  only  security  for  man's  happi- 
ness in  this  life,  and  his  only  pledge  of  felicity  in  the 
life  which  is  to  come.'  * 

It  was  one  of  the  popular  outcries  raised 
against  Bishop  Hobart,  that  he  was  an  enemy 
to  foreign  missions;  as  if  between  foreign  and 
domestic  there  were  any  other  question  than 
that  of  simple  distance.  The  missionary  spirit 
is  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  one  and  the  same 
wherever  it  labor.  As  our  Church  hath  now  well 
said,  '  the  missionary  field  is  one — the  world 
— and  foreign  and  domestic  are  but  terms  of 
locality.'  Now,  that  Bishop  Hobart  possessed 
the  missionary  spiiit  none  will  deny,  for  who 
pleaded  it  more  eloquently,  or  labored  in  it  more 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1815,  p.  11. 


300  M  E  M  O  1  R     O  F 

faithfully,  to  extend,  within  the  limits  where 
he  wrought,  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  The 
charge,  therefore,  amounts  but  to  this,  that 
he  preferred,  for  the  time,  to  labor  nearer  home 
than  some  others,  no  doubt  equally  sincere, 
and  equally  zealous.  And  yet,  who  will  now 
undertake  to  say  that  he  was  wrong  ?  Who 
will  undertake  to  deny  that  the  present  vigorous 
flight  of  our  distant  missions  is  not  the  result 
of  that  condemned  policy  which  began  by  first 
strengthening  at  home  its  infant  and  unfledged 
pinions  1  At  any  rate,  all  must  admit  it  to  be 
a  mere  question  of  time  and  distance,  involving 
no  point  of  principle,  and  justifying,  on  neither 
side,  censure  or  condemnation. 

Among  the  changes  in  the  Diocese  he  was 
called  upon  to  notice,  was  the  decease  of  its 
first  Bishop,  September  6,  1815. 

'  The  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Provoost  has  very  re- 
cently departed  this  life.  To  the  benevolence  and 
urbanity  that  marked  all  his  intercourse  with  his  clergy, 
and,  indeed,  every  social  relation,  there  is  strong  and 
universal  testimony  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  manner 
that  marked  his  official  intercourse,  there  can  be  no 
testimony  more  interesting  than  that  of  the  venerable 
Bishop  of  our  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  who,  on  a  pub- 
lic occasion,*  several  years  since,  referring  to  the  inti- 

*  Bishop  White,  in  his  sermon  at  the  Consecration  of  Bishop 
Moore. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  301 

mate  relation  between  himself  and  Bishop  Provoost. 
introduced  the  sentiment,  that  "  delegation  to  the  same 
civil  office  is  a  ground  on  which  benevolence  and  friendly 
offices  may  be  expected  ; "  and  then  remarked,  "  How 
much  more  sacred  is  a  relation  between  two  persons, 
who,  under  the  appointment  of  a  Christian  Church,  had 
been  successfully  engaged  together  in  obtaining  for  it 
the  succession  to  the  apostolic  office  of  the  Episcopacy ; 
who,  in  the  subsequent  exercise  of  that  Episcopacy, 
had  jointly  labored  in  all  the  ecclesiastical  business 
which  has  occurred  among  us ;  and  who,  through  the 
whole  of  it,  never  knew  a  word,  or  even  a  sensation, 
tending  to  personal  dissatisfaction  or  disunion." '  * 

A  few  words  of  minuter  information  may  not 
be  unacceptable  touching  the  life  of  our  earliest 
diocesan.  The  ancestors  of  Bishop  Provoost 
were  from  Holland,  though  originally  of  France  ; 
being  among  the  refugees  from  that  country 
daring  the  religious  wars  of  the  latter  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  They  emigrated  to 
America  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth. 

His  parents  being  attached  to  the  Church  of 
Holland,  he  was  baptized  and  brought  up  in 
that  communion.  His  early  education  was  in 
his  native  city,  New-York,  a  graduate  of  King's 
College.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  went  over 
to  England  for  its  completion,  entering  himself 
a  fellow-commoner  at  Peter  House,  Cambridge. 
His  studies,  or  his  associates  there,  brought  him 

*  Journal,  1815,  p.  12. 
Dd 


302  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

over,  first  to  the  Church,  and  eventually  to  the 
ministry,  which  he  embraced  as  his  profession. 
He  was  ordained  Deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, at  Westminster,  February,  1766,  and  Priest 
a  few  weeks  after,  at  Whitehall,  by  the  Bishop 
of  Chester.  Marrying  at  Cambridge,  about 
this  time,  he  returned  to  New-York  ;  was 
elected  Assistant  Minister  in  Trinity  Church, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Auchmuty  being  Rector.  In  this 
situation  he  continued  until  the  year  1770, 
when  he  retired  to  his  farm,  as  already  stated  ; 
returning  only  upon  the  final  evacuation  of  the 
city  by  the  British  in  1783.  His  subsequent 
course  has  been  already  given. 

A  new  point  of  interesting  labor  was  this 
year  opened  to  the  Bishop  in  the  condition  of 
one  of  the  Indian  tribes,  or  rather  that  portion 
of  one  of  them  known  as  the  Oneidas,  residing 
on  their  reserved  lands  in  Oneida  county,  to  the 
amount  of  about  four  thousand  sovds.  In  after- 
years  his  feelings  in  their  favor  were  still  more 
highly  excited  by  personal  intercourse  :  his  care 
at  present  was  confined  to  sending  among  them, 
as  a  catechist  and  schoohnaster,  one  of  their  own 
blood  and  lineage,  being  an  Iroquois,  who  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  receive  in  his  youth 
not  only  a  Christian  but  a  liberal  education. 
Among  the  duties  prescribed  to  this  teacher, 
was  that  of  preparing  a  translation  of  portions 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  303 

of  the  Scripture  and  Liturgy  in  the  language  of 
the  tribe,  for  which  purpose  an  earnest  appeal 
to  Episcopalians  was  made  by  the  Bishop  for 
obtaining  the  requisite  funds. 

The  story  of  this  heathen  convert  was  one  of 
painful  interest.  Among  the  later  inroads  of 
the  Indians  on  the  white  settlements,  as  related 
in  colonial  history,  was  one  against  the  frontier 
village  of  Deerfield,  (Conn.,)  which  was  sacked 
and  plundered,  and  the  wife  and  children  of  its 
minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Williams,  who  was  then 
absent,  carried  off  as  part  of  their  booty.  On 
his  return  to  a  desolate  home  the  distracted 
husband  and  father  set  off  immediately  in  pur- 
suit of  the  wretched  captives ;  but  his  search  was 
vain,  and  years  elapsed  before  any  trace  of  them 
was  to  be  found  ;  and  when  discovered,  all  were 
not  willing  to  return — one  daughter  had  married 
a  chief  of  the  tribe  ;  and  on  the  score  either  of 
love  or  duty,  preferred  her  new  to  her  old  home. 
The  children  of  this  ill-assorted  marriage  as- 
sumed the  maternal  name  of  Williams,  and 
from  this  family  was  descended  the  one  who  was 
now  to  be  instrumental,  under  the  guidance  of 
Providence,  in  leading  his  nation  to  a  purer 
faith,  and  more  peaceful  habits,  than  had  be- 
longed to  his  heathen  marauding  progenitors. 
But  the  subject  of  the  Indian  Mission  will  again 
appear  in  the  course  of  the  narrative. 


304  MEMOIROF 

But  there  is  a  further  topic  touched  upon 
ill  the  address,  which  has  been  deferred  to  the 
last,  inasmuch  as  it  opens  another  of  those  points 
of  painful  controversy,  which  so  often  added 
weight,  if  not  bitterness,  to  labors  in  themselves 
sufficiently  heavy.  To  harass  a  conscientious 
man  in  the  performance  of  official  duties,  is  cer- 
tainly not  wisely  or  kindly  done  ;  it  is  like  bait- 
ing some  noble  animal  at  the  stake — the  one  is 
tied,  the  other  free.  Wo  waits  upon  the  ruler 
who  holds  not  on  his  course  of  duty,  however 
encompassed- by  foes,  while  the  voluntary  assail- 
ant may  cast  his  dart,  and  retire  unquestioned. 
Such  are  the  reflections  forced  upon  the  mind 
of  the  writer,  when  he  remembers  all  that  his 
friend  and  Bishop  sustained  and  suffered  in  the 
matter  upon  which  he  now  enters. 

'  It  gives  me,'  says  the  Bishop,  '  great  plea- 
sure to  notice  the  increase  of  Bible  and  Common 
Prayer-book  Societies  in  this  State.' 

The  name  is  sufficient  to  open  the  subject,  at 
least  to  any  of  his  contemporaries.  The  charge 
was  '  bigotry,' if  not  'impiety,'  in  thus  uniting 
the  Prayer-book  with  the  Bible,  and  in  using  his 
official  influence,  as  he  unquestionably  did, 
among  Episcopalians  against  the  formation  of 
common  societies  for  distributing  the  Bible  alone- 
This  requires  from  his  biographer  explanation  ; 
his  own  views  lead  him  to  add,  justification. 


BISHOP     HOBARXr  305 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  an  age  which 
ran  to  amalgamation,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the 
adoption  of  a  Christianity  w^ithoiU  creed  or  dis- 
tinctive marks,  societies  in  which  the  members  of 
every  communion  might  unite  for  the  gratuitous 
distribution  of  the  Scriptures,  without  note  or 
comment,  had  arisen,  and  become  highly  popular, 
first  in  Great  Britain,  and  shortly  after  in  our 
own  country.  Under  this  excitement  very  many 
Episcopalians  were  found  to  prefer  these  new 
and  open  societies  to  the  less  popular  ones  al- 
ready established  in  their  own  Church,  for  a 
similar  end,  viz.  associations  of  Churchmen,  for 
the  united  distribution  of  the  Bible  and  Book 
of  Common  Prayer. 

]  n  this  ardor  for  the  new  form  of  an  old  cause, 
— an  ardor  so  laudable  both  in  its  motive  and  in 
its  end, — while  others  saw  nothing  but  a  subject 
of  congratulation.  Bishop  Hobart  discerned  also 
something,  nay,  even  much,  to  dread.  The 
motive  was  good,  and  tlie  end  was  good, 
but  the  means,  as  he  thought,  were  unwise 
and  inexpedient ;  objectionable  in  principle, 
and  likely  to  prove  highly  injurious  in  their 
final  results.  Under  this  conviction,  he  hesi- 
tated not  as  to  his  course  of  duty.  Though 
well  aware  how  hostile  at  first  sight  the  measure 
would  appear  to  all  other  denominations — how 
easily  it  might  be   perverted  to  party  purposes 

D  d2 


306  MEMOIROF 

within  the  Church,  and  the  outcry  of  'bigotry' 
be  raised  against  both  it  and  him — though  well 
aware,  too,  that  it  was  a  question  in  which  he 
stood  in  the  minority,  perhaps  a  small  one,  cer- 
tainly with  the  laity  of  his  Church,  and  most 
probably  even  with  his  clergy — still  he  faltered 
not  ;  but  coming  forth  in  a  '  Pastoral  Letter ' 
addressed  to  the  laity  of  the  Church  in  his  Dio- 
cese, and  subsequently  in  an  '  Address  to  Epis- 
copalians'  in  general,  proceeded  openly  and 
plainly  to  the  maintenance  of  this  position,  viz. 
That  in  all  societies  of  Churchmen  for  religious 
purposes,  it  is  better  that  they  be  conducted  in 
our  own  way,  and  on  our  own  principles,  and 
consequently  without  union  or  amalgamation 
with  other  denominations. 

The   *  Address '    just   mentioned    concludes 
with  a  characteristic  acknowledgment. 

'  My  brethren  of  the  Laity, — When  I  commenced 
writing  this  address  to  you,  it  was  my  intention  that 
it  should  be  anonymous.  But  I  deem  it  more  consistent 
with  honorable  frankness  to  annex  my  name.  I  am 
aware  that  I  may  be  exposed  to  unworthy  imputations. 
But  if  I  am  charged  with  an  illiberal  or  uncharitable 
spirit.  He  who  knows  my  heart  knows,  I  trust,  that  the 
charge  is  unfounded.  I  think  I  am  doing  my  duty 
— and  my  duty,  "  through  good  report,  and  through 
evil  report,"  I  ought  not  to  fear  to  perform.  I  think 
I  am  doing  my  duty  to  my  Master — to  the  Church,  a 
portion  of  which,   in  his  Providence,  is   intrusted   to 


BISHOP     HOBART.  307 

me  — ■  and  whose  interest  I  would  most  solicitously 
guard,  in  the  firm  persuasion  that  she  is  a  pure  branch 
of  his  mystical  body,  which  is  finally  to  convey  the 
blessings  of  grace  and  redemption  to  every  quarter  of 
the  world,'* 

In  the  stale  of  religious  feeling  that  then 
existed,  this  was  not  only  a  bold  but  a  startling 
position ;  taking  up,  as  many  thought,  unchris- 
tian ground,  and  as  still  more  imagined,  from  its 
running  counter  to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  unte- 
nable nround,  and  one  from  which  he  must 
necessarily  recede. 

Some  of  the  clergy,  many  of  the  laity  of  his 
Diocese  openly  rebelled  against  it ;  while  still 
more,  it  is  probable,  were  silent  out  of  re- 
spect, yielding  to  his  official  authorit)^  what  they 
denied  to  his  argument.  Those  who  thus  ac- 
corded to  his  views,  satisfied  themselves  by 
considering  that  it  was  a  cjuestion  of  expe- 
diency, and  not  of  Christian  principle  ;  not 
one,  therefore,  in  which  they  were  called  upon, 
by  the  maintenance  of  their  individual  opinions, 
to  run  the  risk  of  the  peace  of  the  Church. 

The  evils  of  a  distracted  diocese  had  already 
been  widely  and  deeply  felt,  and  the  w^oimds 
scarcely  closed  :  whether  the  Bible  was  to   be 

*  A(3dress  to  Episcopalians,  on  the  subject  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  p.  12. 


308  MEMOIROF 

given  alone,  or  a  Prayer-book  with  it,  was  cer- 
tainly not  a  question  that  would  justify  opening 
them  again.  Fortunately  this  feeling  operated 
widely  —  fortunately,  it  may  be  said,  because 
many  who  began  with  silence,  ended  with  being 
satisfied. 

The  author,  therefore,  feels  it  due  to  them, 
and  perhaps  to  himself,  as  approximating  to 
them,  as  well  as  to  his  subject,  to  give  the  out- 
line of  an  argument  that  second  and  better 
thoughts  thus  approved  of. 

It  consists  of  two  parts  : 

I.  The  justification  of  the  union  of  the  Prayer- 
book  with  the  Bible,  as  a  summary  of  Christian 
doctrine,  and  a  manual  of  personal  devotion. 

II.  An  exposition  of  the  dangers  to  which  all 
such  general  societies  are  liable,  so  far  at  least 
as  Churchmen  are  concerned. 

On  the  first  point,  however,  the  Bishop  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  had  an  opponent,  since 
the  separate  distribution  of  the  Bible  was  not 
maintained  by  such  societies  on  the  ground  of 
objectionableness  to  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  but  simply,  that  as  none  but  Church- 
men could  be  expected  to  unite  in  distributing 
the  one,  therefore  they  should,  because  they 
could,  combine  in  distributing  the  other. 

The  excellence,  however,  of  the  Prayer-book 
was  to  the  Churchman  at  least  one  very  strong 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  309 

argument  for  uniting  it.     Its  eulogium,  there- 
fore, was  not  misplaced  in  his  argument. 

'  The  evangelical  truths  of  Scripture  are  set  forth  in 
this  book  with  clearness,  fidelity,  and  force  ;  those  truths 
which  are  considered  fundamental,  the  corruption  and 
guilt  of  man — the  divinity,  the  atonement,  and  the 
intercession  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  salvation  through  a 
lively  faith  in  him,  and  through  the  sanctifying  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  To  quote  all  the  passages  which 
set  forth  these  doctrines,  would  be  to  transcribe  the 
Liturgy.  They  constitute  the  spirit  that  gives  life  to 
every  page,  that  glows  in  every  expression  of  this  inim- 
itable volume  ;  they  are  set  forth,  not  in  a  fo'rm  ad- 
dressed merely  to  the  understanding,  but  in  that  fervent 
language  of  devotion  which  reaches  the  heart.  What 
greater  service,  then,  can  we  render  to  a  benighted 
world,  than  to  circulate,  in  conjunction  with  the  Bible, 
this  admirable  summary  of  its  renovating  truths  ? '  * 

Again,  '  One  invaluable  characteristic  of  our  Liturgy 
is  its  admirable  fitness  not  only  for  worship,  but  instruc- 
tion. It  is  not  only  a  guide  to  devotion,  but  a  formulary 
of  faith ;  a  correct  exhibition  of  evangelical  doctrine,  in 
language  gratifying  to  the  taste  of  the  most  refined,  and 
level  to  the  capacities  of  the  most  humble  ;  enlighten- 
ing the  understanding,  and  swaying  the  affections  of  the 
heart.  Can  a  book,  unrivalled  in  its  simple,  correct, 
and  forcible  display  of  the  truths  contained  in  the  Bible, 
be  an  unfit  companion  to  this  sacred  volume  ?  The 
Prayer-book  is  the  best  religious  tract  that  can  accom- 
pany the  Bible.'  t 

*  Berrian,  p.  166.  t  Ibid.  p.  171, 


310  MEMOIR     OF 

But  if  this  be  esteemed  partial  praise,  we  are 
willing  to  take  the  language  of  candid  oppo- 
nents. '  Next  to  the  Bible,'  says  Adam  Clarke, 
that  giant  of  the  Methodist  Chm-ch,  '  the  Prayer- 
book  is  the  book  of  my  understanding,  and  my 
heart.'  Or  take  the  words  of  Robert  Hall,  the 
'light  and  glory'  (and  he  would  have  merited 
the  title  in  any  Church)  of  the  Baptist  commu- 
nion,— '  I  believe,'  says  he,  '  that  the  evangel- 
ical purity  of  its  sentiments,  the  chastised  fervor 
of  its  devotion,  and  the  majestic  simplicity  of 
its  language,  have  combined  to  place  it  in  the 
very  first  rank  of  uninspired  compositions.'  But 
passing  by  the  value  of  the  Prayer-book  as  an 
acknowledged  position,  and  one  not  necessarily 
involved  in  the  controversy,  let  us  examine, 
secondly,  the  real  ground  of  contest,  viz.  the 
objections  to  Churchmen  uniting  in  general  soci- 
eties for  the  distribution  of  the  Scriptures. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Bishop  put  the  question 
on  its  right  footing  :  it  was  a  consideration  of 
expediency,  not  of  principle  ;  the  inquiry  was 
not  as  to  the  value  of  the  word  of  God,  or  the 
duty  of  Christians  to  disseminate  the  knowledge 
of  it ;  in  these  points  all  were  agreed,  and  no  man 
went  beyond  him  in  enforcing  them  ;  but  it  was 
whether  that  duty  were  best  performed  by 
Churchmen  uniting  with  other  denominations  in 
one  common  society,  and  distributing  the  Bible 


B  I  S  H  OP     HOB  AR  T.  311 

without  note  or  comment,  or  by  laboring  in  their 
own  Christian  field,  and  in  their  own  scriptural 
way. 

On  this  point  the  Bishop  stood  firm,  and  shout- 
ed it  to  be  expedient  as  well  as  right  :  it  was 
better,  he  said,  far  better  for  Episcopalians  to 
hold  together,  to  rally  around  their  own  Church, 
and  manage  their  own  concerns  without  the 
intervention  of  strangers.  The  very  needless- 
ness  of  amalgamation  was  asuflScient  argument 
against  it.  We  have  our  own  societies,  and  for 
the  same  ends.  Why  incorporate  with  those 
from  whom  you  conscientiously  diflfer,  in  an  ob- 
ject equally  well  attained  by  uniting  with  those 
with  whom  you  conscientiously  agree  1  This 
at  any  rate  threw  the  burthen  of  proof  on  those 
who  w^ere  for  introducing  the  new  principle. 

But  it  was  said,  *  Union ' — '  Union  and  har- 
mony among  Christians ' — '  This  alone  is  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel' — '  Why  needlessly  separate 
from  our  fellow  Christians  upon  minor  and  un- 
essential points,  in  distributing  that  blessed  book 
in  which  we  all  put  our  trust  1 ' — '  Let  Church- 
men have  Prayer-book  societies  within  them- 
selves, but  let  them  unite  with  their  Christian 
brethren  in  distributing  Bibles.' 

Against  such  popular  appeals  it  was  not  easy 
to  make  good  even  the  most  conclusive  argu- 
ment, and  it  may  be  doubted  how  far  the  Bishop 


313  MEMOIR     OF 

at  that  time  succeeded,  in  one  that  certainly 
admitted  of  two  opinions.  His  reasons,  how- 
ever, were  strong  in  themselves,  and  experience 
has  given  them  tenfold  weight.  In  spirit  they 
were  shortly  these. 

The  differences  that  exist  between  Church- 
men and  others  are  either  essential  oi non-essential. 
If  the  latter,  let  them  be  given  up,  not  only  in 
Bible  societies,  but  in  church  government,  in 
ministry,  doctrine,  and  discipline, — for  if  union 
be  the  only  law  of  Christian  charity,  and  the 
differences  are  unimportant,  where  shall  the 
line  be  drawn  ?  for,  draw  it  where  you  Vv^ill, 
Christian  harmony,  according  to  this  principle, 
is  violated.  But  if  such  universal  amalgamation 
be  absurd,  it  shows  that  there  is  some  practical 
fallacy  in  this  apparently  Christian  plea  for 
union.  Tlie  fallacy  is  an  obvious  one  ;  it  consists 
in  substituting  union,  which  is  a  worldly  ques- 
tion, for  UNITY,  which  is  the  Christian  principle. 
The  first,  to  be  true  and  sound,  can  go  no  fur- 
ther than  the  latter  goes  —  union  cannot  go 
beyond  unity. 

A  similar  fallacy  exists  too  in  the  cry  of 
Christian  charity,  which  is  violated,  not  by 
standing  up  for  what  we  believe  to  be 
truth,  but  by  contending  for  it  in  an  improper 
spirit ;  and  the  charge  of  bigotry  is  incurred, 
not  by  pursuing  good  ends  in  our  own  way,  but 


BISHOP     HOBART.  313 

in  denying  to  those  who  differ  from  us  an  equal 
right  of  choice  in  the  common  field  of  Christian 
usefuhiess.  But  upon  this  again  issue  was 
joined.  Why,  said  the  advocates  of  the  Bible 
Society,  does  Bishop  Hobart  step  out  of  his  way 
to  oppose  our  course  ?  But  the  question  was, 
'  Did  he  ? ' 

Bishop  Hobart  addressed  himself  but  to  the 
members  of  his  own  Church,  and  his  own  Dio- 
cese— to  those  over  whom  he  had  accepted  a 
charge,  and  in  a  matter  where  he  felt  himself 
to  be  their  guide.  Was  this  out  of  his  way  ? 
Were  others  to  take  offence  because  he  guided 
his  own  ;  or  call  that  an  attack  upon  them  which 
was  but  the  necessary  result  of  his  own  official 
responsibility  1  This  part  of  the  question  evident- 
ly resolved  itself  into  the  rightful  limits  of  a  bish- 
op's care  over  his  people  ;  a  question  with  which 
those  without  the  Church  had  evidently  nothing 
to  do  :  and  those  within,  whatever  they  might 
think  of  his  advice,  could  evidentl}^  find  no  fault 
with  his  giving  it  ;  it  only  showed  his  watch- 
fulness in  matters  where  they  themselves  had 
appointed  him  to  watch. 

What  else,  in  short,  could  a  conscientious 
man  have  done,  believing  as  he  did  ?  Convinced 
that  the  compromise  involved  in  such  union  was 
unnecessary  to  attain  the  end,  unfavorable  in 
its  operation  upon  the  Christian  character,  by 

Ee 


314  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

weakening  the  outworks  of  its  faith  and  pro- 
fession, and  likely  to  prove  in  its  result  highly 
detrimental  to  the  Church  by  breaking  up  its 
ranks,  scattering  its  members,  and  amalgamat- 
ing them  with  a  preponderant  sect,  from  which, 
in  discipline  if  not  in  doctrine,  the  Church 
widely  differed  ;  and  beyond  all  this,  regarding  it 
as  an  unscriptural,  and  therefore  an  unsound 
mode,  needlessly  to  separate  the  word  of  God 
from  the  Church  of  God  in  our  endeavors  to  evan- 
gelize the  world ;  believing  all  this  conscien- 
tiously, and  feeling  it  most  deeply,  what  other 
course  could  Bishop  Hobart  have  taken  than 
that  he  did  take,  viz.  to  warn  his  people  affection- 
ately and  earnestly  to  gather  around  their  own 
standard,  and  evangelize  the  nations  by  carry- 
ing to  them,  as  the  Apostles  did,  the  Church  as 
well  as  the  Gospel. 

This  latter  point  was  the  burthen  of  his  ob- 
jection. '  Those  societies,'  said  he,  *  appear  to 
me  erroneous  in  principle.'  *  The  separation  of 
the  Church  from  the  word  of  God,  of  the  sacred 
volume  from  the  ministry,  the  worship,  and  the 
ordinances  which  it  enjoins,  is  wrong.'  *  We" 
deem  ourselves  not  warranted  in  sanctioning 
what  appears  to  us  a  departure  from  the  apostolic 
mode  of  propagating  Christianity.'^  * 

•  Address,  &c.  1822. 


B  I  SH  O  P     H  O  B  ART.  315 

The  subject,  however,  did  not  pass  without 
controversy.  His  appeal  to  Churchmen  was  not 
only  attacked  by  those  who  owed  to  him  no  obe- 
dience, but  protested  against  by  some  who  did. 

The  *  Pastoral  Letter '  was  answered  anony- 
mously by  an  *  Episcopalian  ; '  one,  who,  if 
report  rightly  indicated  the  author,  was  the  very 
last  who  should  have  found  fault  with  an  act  of 
unpopular  official  independence  in  another,  as 
being  himself  one  whose  whole  course  has  exhi- 
bited the  same  conscientiousness  in  judgment, 
and  fearlessness  in  duty,  with  him  whom  he  here 
opposed  ;  whose  motto,  like  that  of  Bishop" Ho- 
bart's,  has  ever  been,  '  fiat  justitia,  ruat  coelum.' 

In  this  world  of  error  and  misapprehension  it 
were  vain  to  hope  that  such  a  course  of  indepen- 
dent unpopular  duty,  however  pure  in  its  mo- 
tives, would  escape  censure.  The  charges  of 
ambition,  formalism,  bigotry,  and  persecution, 
were,  therefore,  freely  poured  out  against  him. 
That  these  were  made  by  men  equally  sincere 
with  himself,  there  is  no  need  to  question  ;  but 
that,  in  truth,  they  were  unfounded,  the  event, 
and  the  knowledge  of  his  private  character,  may 
sufficiently  show  ;  and  they  are  now  noticed,  only 
as  being  among  the  trials  through  which  he  had 
to  pass,  though  perhaps,  too,  some  may  draw 
from  their  recollection  the  needful  lesson  not 
hastily  to  judge,    or  harshly  to  condemn,  the 


316  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

course  of  public  men  in  the  conscientious  per- 
formance of  duty. 

But  there  is  one  charge  recently  made  which 
Bishop  Hobart's  biographer  cannot  pass  by  in 
silence,  coming  as  it  does  from  the  pen  of  a  cler- 
gyman who  ranks  justly  high  in  influence,  and 
appearing  as  it  does  in  a  work  of  permanent 
form,  and  in  the  narrative  of  a  life  highly  beau- 
tiful and  interesting. 

In  the  Memoir  of  the  late  Rev.  G.  T.  Bedell, 
of  Philadelphia,  a  narrative  is  given  *  of  some 
occurrences  in  his  life,  as  connected  with  this 
question,  casting  imputation  upon  the  good 
faith  and  kind  heart  of  Bishop  Hobart.  It  is 
due,  however,  to  the  highly  talented  author  of 
that  narrative,  to  add,  that  upon  the  written 
evidences  of  such  error  being  submitted  to  him, 
he  promptly,  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  candor, 
addressed  to  the  Editor  of  *  The  Churchman,'  a 
letter,  acknowledging  his  mistake.  *  I  gladly,' 
said  he,  *  take  this  opportunity  to  make  the  cor- 
rection, w^hich  truth  and  justice  demand  ;'  f 
and  it  is  here  introduced  only  to  forward  his  own 
wish,  that  the  explanation  should  be  as  widely 
diffused  as  the  error. 

But  there  is  a  further  passage  in  the  memoir, 

*  Pp.  40-42. 

t  Churchman,  September  12,  1835. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  317 

which,  as  it  lies  before  the  writer,  and  as  bear- 
ing on  the  present  question,  seems  to  call  for  a 
passing  notice.  Speaking  of  Dr.  Bedell's  edu- 
cation, under  the  guidance  of  Bishop  Hobart, 
he  says,  '  so  certainly  true  did  Mr.  Bedell  con- 
sider Bishop  Hobart's  views  of  doctrine,  that  he 
was  accustomed  subsequently  to  say,  in  refer- 
ence to  his  early  ministry,  that,  for  its  first 
years  he  "preached  Bishop  Hobart."  '  *  And, 
immediately  after,  speaking  of  his  first  discourse, 
Dr.  Tyng  observes  ;  *  In  this  sermon,  in  which 
his  particular  subject  was  "  Gospel  preaching," 
we  find  just  those  partial  and  imperfect  views  of 
divine  truth  which  a  knowledge  of  his  previous 
course  and  character  would  have  led  us  to 
expect.'  f 

Now  the  answer  to  this  unchristian  condem- 
nation may  be  found  in  Dr.  Bedell's  own  ac- 
knowledgment, toward  the  close  of  life,  when 
he  states,  that  in  his  subsequent  preaching, 
which  his  biographer  so  highly  eulogizes,  he 
had  *  dwelt  too  little  on  the  peculianties  of  the 
Church,  and  that,  God  willing,  he  proposed  to 
amend  it.'  It  might  too,  we  think,  have  oc- 
curred to  his  biographer,  whether  in  giving 
permanency  to  such  party  words  as,  *  preaching 
Bishop   Hobart,'    he   was    not  sinning  against 

♦  Page  28.  t  Page  30. 

E  e  2 


318  MEMOIROF 

those  better  words  of  peace,  which  he  himself 
records,  as  Dr.  Bedell's  legacy  of  Christian 
charity  to  the  Church. 

*  If,'  said  he,  *  in  the  heat  of  party  contro- 
versy, I  have  said  or  written  any  thing  which 
has  wounded  the  feelings,  or  been  injurious  to 
any  one,  I  ask  that  it  may  be  attributed  to  the 
heat  of  party  controversy,  and  that  this  expres- 
sion of  regret  be  received  in  the  spirit  in  which 
it  is  rendered.'  * 

Noble  acknowledgment,  and  nobly  expressed! 
But  we  are  well  aware  that  in  this  sentiment 
no  man  more  fully  unites  than  his  Christian 
biographer,  and  that  whatever  has  escaped  him, 
militating,  even  in  words,  against  it,  is  to  be 
attributed  to  haste  or  to  inadvertency,  and  will, 
doubtless,  be  amended  in  a  subsequent  edition 
of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  instructive 
memoirs  that  our  Church  has  produced. 

But  what  bears  most  upon  our  subject,  in 
this  volume  thus  incidentally  brought  up,  is 
Dr.  Bedell's  own  change  of  views.  'A  few 
weeks  before  his  death  ' — they  are  the  words  of 
the  friend  to  whom  they  were  addressed, — *  he 
said,  like  many  who  thought  and  acted  with 
him,  he  had  for  years  said  little  on  the  pecu- 
liarities of  our  Church,  but  the  period  had  arrived 

*  Page  193. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  319 

when  they  should  be  taught  and  preached. 
He  then  added,  very  emphatically,  "  If  God 
spares  my  life,  I  intend  delivering  a  course  of 
sermons  on  Episcopacy  this  winter."  This 
course,  he  informed  me,  he  had  then  in  prepara- 
tion.' * 

As  Bishop  Hobart's  views  in  this  question 
were,  and,  perhaps,  still  are  branded  by  many 
with  want  of  Christian  liberality,  it  is  due  to 
him  to  give  his  vindication  in  his  own  words. 

'  Christian  liberality'  extends  its  charity,  not  to 
opinions  but  to  men  ;  judging  candidly  of  their  motives, 
their  character,  and  conduct.  Tenacious  of  what  it 
deems  truth,  it  earnestly  endeavors,  in  the  spirit  of 
Christian  kindness,  to  reclaim  others  from  error.  But 
there  is  a  spurious  liberality,  whose  tendency  is  to  con- 
found entirely  the  boundaries  between  truth  and  error. 
It  acts  under  influence  of  the  maxim,  not  the  less  per- 
nicious, because  it  allures  in  the  flowing  harmony  of 
numbers. 

"  For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight, 
He  can't  be  wrong  whose  life  is  in  the  right." 

Christian  unity  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Gospel,  and  schism  a  deadly  sin.  But  Christian  Unity 
is  to  be  obtained,  not  by  a  dishonorable  concealment  or 
abandonment  of  principle,  where  there  is  no  real  change 
of  opinion;  nor  even  by  a  union  in  doctrine,  could  such 
a   union  be   sincerely  efiected,  of  religious  sects  who 

♦  Page  185. 


320  MEMOIROF 

continue  to  differ  in  regard  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Church.  The  Episcopalian  declines  with  mildness 
and  prudence,  but  with  decision  and  firmness,  all  prof- 
fered compromises  and  associations,  which  do  not  re- 
cognise these  orders  of  the  ministry,  and  which  may 
tend  to  weaken  this  attachment  to  the  distinctive  prin- 
ciples of  his  own  Church.  He  respects  the  consciences 
of  others.  He  guards  their  rights,  but  he  will  not 
sacrifice  or  endanger  his  own.  He  defends  and  en- 
forces those  true  principles  of  Christian  unity  which 
characterize  his  Church.  He  does  his  duty,  and  leaves 
the  rest  to  God,  in  the  prayer  and  in  the  belief  that  the 
gracious  Head  of  the  Church  will,  in  his  own  good 
time,  overcome  the  errors,  the  prejudices,  and  the  pas- 
sions of  men,  to  the  advancement  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship and  peace  ;  so  that,  at  length,  "  the  whole  of  his 
dispersed  sheep  shall  be  gathered  into  one  fold,  under 
one  shepherd,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  '  * 

How  far  the  evils  predicted  by  Bishop  Ho- 
bart,  as  likely  to  result  from  such  union  in 
general  societies,  have  been  in  truth  experi- 
enced by  other  denominations,  it  is  for  them  to 
say ;  certain  it  is  such  impression  has  gone 
abroad,  that  they  have  not  proved  baseless. 
To  take  a  few  authorities  as  they  incidentally 
occur. 

'  We  award,'  says  the  leading  paper  of  the  Method- 
ists, in  1835,  'to  the  Episcopalians  the  priority  in  the 
defence  of  church,  or  denominational  religious  societies, 

*  Berrian,  pp.  173-175. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  32^1 

in  opposition  to  the  plan  of  national  religious  societies. 
We  are  informed  that  Bishop  Hobart  was  the  first  to 
make  a  stand.  Had  othej:  able  men  and  excellent 
papers,  upon  the  conviction  of  this  being  the  better 
course,  defended  it  with  constancy,  firmness,  and  dis- 
cretion, the  general  Church  of  God  in  this  country 
would  have  been  in  a  much  better  state.' 

The    language    of    the    Reformed    Dutch 
Church  is  to  a  similar  effect. 

'  The  spirit-stirring  Liturgy  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  a  scrupulous  adherence  to  it  has, 
under  God,  notwithstanding  the  mutation  of  men  and 
things,  and  all  the  aspersions  cast  upon  her,  as  coldness, 
formality,  and  want  of  devotional  feeling, — we  say,  a 
scrupulous  adherence  to  her  Liturgy,  has  preserved 
her  integrity  beyond  any  denomination  of  Christians 
since  the  Reformation.  Even  defection  from  the  arti- 
cles of  her  faith,  by  men  within  her  own  bosom,  has 
been  restrained  in  its  course  by  the  form  of  sound 
words,  so  that,  whatever  dissensions  prevail  within,  all 
are  still  united  in  maintaining  a  common  cause.  The 
example,  we  hesitate  not  to  say,  is  worthy  of  imita- 
tion.    It  might  be  so  in  our  Church.     And  why  not  ? '  * 

But  the  controversy  is  now  past,  and  a  wider 
experience  of  missionary  labor  has  enabled  the 
Christian  world  to  judge  of  the  expediency,  or 
inexpediency,  of  uniting  the  distribution  of  the 
Prayer-book  with  the  Bible — and  what  says  it  1 

*  Banner  of  Church,  vol.  i.  p.  13L 


3S2  31  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

Let  facts  decide.  At  the  very  moment  (and 
it  is  a  notable  coincidence)  that  Presbyterians 
in  America  were  pressing  Bishop  Hobart  with 
the  triumphant  question,  '  Of  what  possible  use 
is  the  Prayer-booi^  in  converting  the  Heathen  ? ' 
at  that  very  moment  were  Presbyterian  mission- 
aries in  the  east,  engaged  in  translating  into 
those  foreign  tongues  that  very  book,  as  being 
the  greatest  aid  they  could  have  in  converting 
the  Heathen  ;  and,  w^hat  is  more,  makmg  the 
translation  of  it  to  precede,  in  some  instances, 
that  of  the  Scriptures  themselves,  as  an  expe- 
dient introduction  of  them  to  the  narrow  and 
bewildered  minds  of  the  Heathen.  Under  date 
of  September  4,  1817,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Morrison, 
the  '  apostle,'  as  he  has  been  well  termed,  of 
China,  thus  writes  home,  hinipelf  a  Dissenter, 
to  a  board  composed  of  Dissenters. 

'  I  have  translated  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayers 
just  as  they  stand  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
altering  only  those  which  relate  to  the  rulers  of  the 
land.  These  I  am  printing,  together  with  the  Psalter 
divided  for  the  thirty  days  of  the  month.  I  intend  them 
as  a  help  for  social  worship,  and  as  affording  excel- 
lent and  suitable  expressions  for  individual  devotion. 
The  Heathen  at  first  requires  helps  for  social  devotion, 
and  to  me  it  appeared,  that  the  richness  of  devotional 
phraseology,  the  elevated  views  of  the  Deity,  and  the 
explicit  and  full  recognition  of  the  work  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  were  so  many  excellences,  that  a  version 


B  I  S  H  O  P      H  O  B  ART.  323 

of  them  into  Chinese,  as  they  were,  was  better  than  for 
me  to  new-model  them.'  * 

How  striking  the  refutation  !  While  'an  Epis- 
copalian' was  here  penning  the  assertion,  'be- 
yond the  bounds  of  the  Church  no  man  wants 
a  Prayer-book,'  heathen  converts  in  India  were 
crying  out  for  its  introduction  ;  and  Chris- 
tian zeal  and  learning  making  even  those  who 
rejected  it  themselves,  busy  in  giving  it  to 
them.  On  this  point  Christian  missionaries 
now  concur — '  to  the  Heathen,  in  his  blindness,' 
the  Bible  (with  reverence  be  it  spoken),  is  a 
sealed  book,  '  unless  some  man  guide  him  ; '  he 
must  have  the  voice  of  the  living  instructer, 
or  some  other  aid,  to  explain,  to  unfold,  and 
teach  it  to  him.  In  short,  it  is  the  '  Church,' 
that  must  carry  forward  the  Gospel.  This  was 
the  sum  and  substance  of  Bishop  Hobart's  argu- 
ment, and  it  has  been,  by  ten  thousand  facts, 
triumphantly  established. 

A  recent  letter  from  that  devoted  '  mission- 
ary,' as  he  may  well  be  termed.  Bishop  Wilson, 
of  Calcutta,  places  this  matter  in  a  strong  light : 
*  I  am  more  and  more  convinced,'  says  he,  '  that 
the  Episcopal  Churches,  with  their  paternal 
order,  their  Liturgies,  their  offices  of  religion, 
their  meek  and  holy   doctrine,    their  visibility 

*  Dr.  Morrison's  Letter. 


324  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

and  stability  in  the  sight  of  the  Heathen,  are 
best  adapted  for  the  feeble,  prostrate,  hibricous, 
half-civilized  minds  of  the  Hindoos.'* 

May  not,  too,  the  acknowledged  failure  of 
some  modern  missions  among  the  Heathen  be 
traced,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  want  of  such 
an  aid.  In  such  instances,  there  has  been 
no  lack  of  preachers,  of  zeal,  or  of  Bibles  ; 
but  they  have  wanted  form  and  organization, 
and,  above  all,  a  Liturgy  ;  therefore  have  the 
results  of  their  labor  been  fickle  and  transitory. 
Their  converts  have  been  taught,  but  not  built 
up  ;  they  have  not  been  moulded,  as  the  ignorant 
mind  must  ever  be,  by  '  line  upon  line  ; '  through 
the  power  of  solemn  form  and  daily  habit. 

But,  however  others  may  think  of  this  ques- 
tion, with  Episcopalians  it  is,  henceforth,  a 
question  settled  and  ruled.  The  Church  is 
THE  Missionary  Society.  Such  is  the  solemn 
decision  of  the  highest  councils  of  the  Church. 
Therefore  does  the  Church  go  where  the  Gospel 
goes  ;  her  prayers  go  with  her  instructions,  her 
ministers  with  her  doctrines ;  her  sacraments 
with  the  knowledge  of  that  covenant  of  which 
they  are  the  seal,  or  in  other  words,  the 
Prayer-book  goes  with  the  Bible. 

To  close  this  long  discussion  with  the  words 

♦  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milnor,  April  15,  1835. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  325 

foreign  to  controversy  ;  the  views  of  both  par- 
ties, in  this  matter,  were,  doubtless,  equally 
conscientious,  and  perhaps  have  both  been 
equally  blest.  If  the  wisdom  of  an  all-seeing 
Providence  overrule  even  the  '  wrath  of  man 
to  praise  him,'  much  more  may  we  look  for  it 
amid  the  unwilling  errors  of  human  judgment. 
The  concentrated  wealth  of  Bible  Societies  haa 
doubtless  hastened  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures into  many  heathen  tongues,  and  extended 
the  word  of  reconciliation  where,  perhaps,  with- 
out their  labors,  it  would  be  still  unheard  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  without  the  sounder  princi- 
ples involved  in  the  argument  of  their  opponents, 
and  which  have  been  so  manifestly  blest  to  the 
strengthening  and  enlarging  of  the  Church 
in  which  they  were  peculiarly  maintained, — 
without  these  sounder  principles  entering  in 
upon  the  same  field,  and  carrying  forward  the 
Church  of  Christ  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
the  labors  of  the  former  would  be  found  com- 
paratively vague,  feeble,  and  baseless.  Upon 
primitive  form,  and  apostolic  order  alone,  can 
the  Church  securely  rest,  for  upon  these  was  it 
placed  by  its  divine  Head  and  Founder. 

Of  the  Church  at  home  it  is  still  easier  to 
speak.  The  policy  was  a  wise  one  which 
gathered  it  around  its  own  standard,  and  to  the 

warning  voice,  on  that  occasion,  of  her  wakeful 
F  f 


326^  MEMOIR     OP 

guardian,  the  Church,  under  God's  providence, 
owes  much.  Though  the  note  may  have  sound- 
ed harsh  in  the  ears  of  the  watching,  it  was 
needful  to  awaken  the  sleepers,  and  to  infuse 
into  their  movements,  as  it  unquestionably  has 
done,  a  new  and  m.ore  energetic  spirit. 

Of  this  new  spirit,  the  increased  demand  for 
Prayer-books,  which  immediately  followed  this 
controversy,  is  sufficient  proof.  In  1815,  five 
hundred  copies  of  the  Prayer-book  were  issued 
from  the  Depository.  In  1816,  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  fifty.  In  1817,  five  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  thirty-nine.* 

The  Bishop's  official  publications,  this  year, 
were  more  numerous  than  usual.  He  was  ever 
ardent  in  proportion  as  he  saw  evil,  or  appre- 
hended danger.  In  addition  to  the  usual  ad- 
dress to  the  Convention,  he  gave  also  a 
'  Charge'  to  the  clergy,  the  first  instance,  it  is 
believed,  of  such  form  of  admonition  in  our 
American  Church,  certainly  in  the  Diocese. 

As  the  practice  was  a  novel  one,  he  introduces 
it  with  an  exposition  of  its  fitness  and  im- 
portance. 

'  My  Brethren  of  the  Clergy,  —  The  delivering  of 
charges   to  the  clergy  is    a  duty   resulting  from    the 

♦  Reports  Bible  and  Common  Prayer-book  Society,  1815, 
1816,  and  1817. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  327 

nature  of  the  Episcopal  office,  sanctioned  by  imme- 
morial usage,  and  contemplated  by  the  canons  of  our 
Church.  The  addresses,  at  the  opening  of  the  Conven- 
tion, present  a  view  of  the  state  of  the  Diocese,  and 
afford  an  opportunity  for  remarks  on  the  subject  of 
ecclesiastical  affairs.  It  is  the  design  of  Episcopal 
charges  to  explain  and  enforce  whatever  relates  to 
the  Christian  ministry,  its  constitution,  its  distinct 
grades,  their  general  and  particular  powers  and  duties, 
their  qualifications,  literary,  theological,  and  eccle- 
siastical ;  the  responsibility  of  their  office,  its  diffi- 
culties, its  aids,  and  its  rewards.  From  the  variety 
and  importance  of  these  topics,  it  is  easy  to  infer  how 
instrumental  these  charges  may  be  in  exciting  and  aid- 
ing both  him  who  delivers  them,  and  those  to" whom 
they  are  addressed,  in  the  faithful,  diligent,  and  zealous 
execution  of  the  duties  of  the  ministry.'  * 

After  an  eloquent  vindication  of  the  Church 
from  the  political  prejudices  heaped  upon  her, 
he  adds  : — 

'  We  resemble  the  primitive  Church  in  our  faith,  in 
our  ministry,  and  in  our  worship, — let  it  be  our  care  to 
resemble  her  in  sanctity  of  manners,  in  devotedness  to 
our  God  and  Saviour.'  f 

In  urging-  agahi  upon  the  clergy  the  trust, 
the  responsibility,  that  rested  upon  them  in 
relation  to  testimonials  given  to  candidates  for 
the  ministr}^,  he  rises  into  language,  deepened 

*  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  1815,  pp.  3,  4.  t  Ibid.  p.  27. 


328  MEMOIROF 

b}'^  the  recollection  of  past,  or,  perhaps,  the  fore- 
sight of  coming  trials. 

'  Let  us  stop  him  before  he  touches  the  first  step  of 
the  altar,  lest  he  pour  on  it  unhallowed  vows,  and  he 
smitten  by  the  wrath  of  God.  Let  us  arrest  him  at  the 
threshold  of  the  sanctuary,  lest  in  its  sacred  courts  he 
should  be  the  scoff  of  the  ungodly,  and  the  grief  of  the 
pious.  Let  us  arrest  him  before  he  enter  the  Christian 
fold  and  sow  dissension  among  the  flock  of  Christ,  and 
dishonor  the  holy  spouse,  and  rend  the  sacred  body  of 
the  Redeemer ;  for  difficult  and  painful  may  afterward 
be  the  task  of  expelling  him  from  the  altar  which  he 
profanes — from  the  sanctuary  which  he  disgraces — from 
the  fold  and  body  of  Christ  which  he  dishonors  and 
rends.'*  _^  .  .  » 

The    charge    closes   with   an    injunction   to 
pastoral  duty,  in  a  spirit  of  apostolic  earnestness. 

'  His  congregation  are  his  charge.  "  Feed  my 
sheep,"  guide,  reclaim,  comfort,  lead  them  to  heaven, 
was  the  commission  of  Him  from  whom  he  received 
them.  To  the  care  of  his  flock  then,  every  other  care 
is  made  subservient.  The  lambs  of  his  fold  he  dili- 
gently feeds  with  food  convenient  for  them ;  the  weak 
he  encourages  ;  the  strong  he  confirms  ;  the  self-confi- 
dent he  cautions  ;  the  timid  he  animates  ;  the  despond- 
ing he  enlivens ;  the  mourning  he  comforts ;  the  un- 
godly he  prudently  reproves;  the  scoffer  he  puts  to 
silence.     In  the  abodes  of  poverty  and  wretchedness  he 

*  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  p.  29. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  329 

is  seen  dispensing  comfort.  At  the  bed  of  the  sick  and 
the  dying,  he  appears,  sometimes,  indeed,  the  messen- 
ger of  wrath ;  but  only  that  he  may  exercise,  with  more 
effect,  the  benign  office  of  the  angel  of  consolation.'* 

'  Who  is  sufficient  for  all  these  things  ?  There  is  a 
principle  that  will  constitute  our  sufficiency — the  divine 
principle  of  faith.  This  is  the  principle  by  which  we 
exhort  Christians  to  overcome.  Let  us  show  them  that 
this  is  the  principle  by  which  we  can  become  conquerors. 
Let  us  believe  that  we  are  commissioned  by  the  Lord  of 
all  things.  Let  us  believe,  that  in  all  our  labors,  duties, 
sacrifices,  trials,  we  are  co-workers  with  him  in  the  ex- 
alted work  of  promoting  Goo's  glory,  and  the  salvation 
of  men  ;  and  are  conformed  to  his  example.  Let  us 
believe  that  he  is  present  with  us,  comforting,  succor- 
ing us ;  leading  us  to  duty,  to  trial,  to  victory,  to  re- 
ward. Let  us  behold  that  reward — a  crown  of  right- 
eousness. By  faith,  let  us  look  to  our  Master,  let  us 
look  to  Heaven — and  what  can  we  not  do  ?  Pray, 
brethren,  that  this  faith  may  be  yours.  Pray  that  it 
may  be  his  who  addresses  you.  Pray  that  you,  and  he, 
and  you  the  beloved  people  to  whom  we  minister,  may 
finally  be  found  worthy,  by  this  faith,  to  be  admitted  to 
the  Church  triumphant.'  t 


The  following  desponding  letters  recall  the 
name  of  one  (Rev.  C.  W.)  whose  fortunes  have 
already  been  noted  as  below  his  merits.     They 

*  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  1815,  p.  39. 
t  IbiJ.  pp.  43,  44. 
F  f  2 


330  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

may  seem,  and  probably  are  out  of  place  amid 
the  high  questions  of  church  policy  and  official 
duty,  into  which  our  narrative  has  run  ;  but 
such  is  life,  and  such  must  be  its  picture.  They 
were  besides,  too,  promised  to  the  reader,  (page 
120,)  as  completing  a  picture,  net  without  its 
melancholy  interest  as  that  of  a  poor,  humble, 
right-hearted,  wrong-headed  country  clergyman. 
His  children  were  now  old  enough,  it  seems,  to 
make  him  feel  doubly  the  pressure  of  poverty. 
The  following  was  soliciting  aid  from  a  society 
for  the  education  of  a  son, 


FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

'  Derby,  February  I3th,  1815., 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

It  would  be  ingratitude  in  me  to  doubt  your  friend- 
ship. I  have  no  claim  upon  the  clemency  of  the  Soci- 
ety, no  plea  but  indigence.  I  know  too,  that  as  their 
benevolence  cannot  be  infinite  it  must  have  its  bounda^ 
lies,  its  longitude  and  its  latitude.  But  I  know,  Sir, 
that  the  Society  has  supported  two  boys,  at  the  Cheshire 
Academy,  whose  father  is  not  a  resident  in  your  State, 
and  the  latchets  of  whose  shoes  are  worth  more  than 
my  cassock  and  band.  But  they  have  a  right  to  do 
what  they  will  with  their  own.  My  application  in 
favor  of  my  oldest  son  was  made  when  I  was  a  resident 
in  your  State :  perhaps,  if  I  had  had  that  persevering 
address,  so  essential  in  the  affairs  of  this  world,  I  might 
have  obtained  my  request ;  but  I  have  a  decided  aver- 


BISHOP     HOBART.  331 

sion  to  repeating  a  request  on  human  clemency,  it  bears 
the  aspect  of  demand.  I  now  expect  no  favor  from  that 
quarter.  "Whatever  is,  is  right,"  says  Pope,  and  a 
greater  than  Pope  says,  "  Be  careful  for  nothing." 

The  more  I  read  the  Scriptures,  and  note  the  progress 
of  the  things  of  this  world,  the  more  illustrious  appears 
the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Jesus,  "  My  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world." 

Yours  affectionately, 

C,  W.' 

FROM  REV.  C.  Vf. 

'  Derby,  October  21,  1815. 
Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  ten  dollars  enclosed 
in  yours  of  the  12th  instant.  I  am  satisfied  ;  I  never 
troubled  myself  about  the  books,  and  never  meant  to 
give  you  any  trouble,  although  ten  dollars  is  more  than, 
probably,  they  will  ever  be  worth  to  you. 

That  "  all  things   shall  work  together  for  good   to 
them  that  love  God,"  is  apostolic  theology ;  whether  I 
am  comprehended  in  this  blessing  is  more  than  I  know. 
With  all  due  respect,  yours, 

C.W.' 

To  close  this  piteous  story,  the  last  letter 
lighted  upon  from  him  is  as  follows  ;  bearing  in 
its  hand-writing  somewhat  of  the  feebleness  of 
age.  May  we  not  add,  too,  in  its  inconclusive 
reasoning. 


339  MEMOIROF 


FROM  REV.  C.  W. 

'  Derby,  December  9th,  1818. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

It  is  with  diffidence  I  make  this  communication 
after  a  laborious  investigation,  availing  myself  both  of 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  writers  and  correspond- 
ents. I  think  that  St.  Peter  held  an  apostolic  supremacy 
— that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  a  Church  of 
Christ,  holding  a  valid  priesthood — and,  that  she  is  not 
the  Anti-Christ  spoken  of  by  the  beloved  Apostle. 
Whether  the  Pope  of  Rome  has  an  exclusive  right  to 
St.  Peter's  keys,  is  a  question  upon  which  darkness  and 
light  has  alternately  rested,  as  I  have  turned  over  the 
pages  of  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  writers. 

Thus,  as  a  son  to  a  father,  have  I  unbosomed  the  sen- 
timents of  my  heart,  nothing  doubting  but  they  will  be 
received  with  that  impartial  charity,  and  paternal  ten- 
derness of  heart,  which  the  Christian  verity  teaches  us 
is  the  inheritance  of  every  Father  in  God.  If  holding 
these  opinions  is  inconsistent  with  my  holding  a  peace- 
able stand  upon  Protestant  ground,  I  can  retire  in  peace, 
unwilling  to  give  my  bishop  or  brethren  a  moment's 
discomposure — my  importance  in  the  Church  is  not 
worth  it — only  asking  the  blessedness  of  sitting  under 
mine  own  vine  and  mine  own  fig-tree,  disturbing  no 
man,  and  by  none  disturbed.  I  repose  my  concern  upon 
your  paternal  bosom,  waiting  for  a  reply. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

Yours  most  obediently, 

C.  W.' 


BISHOP     HOBART.  'iZZ 

CHAPTER  XV. 
A.  D.   1815.      Mt.  40. 

Formation  of  Church  Societies — Their  Objects  and  Influence — Bishop 
Hobart's  Zeal  for  them — The  Principle  on  which  they  were  founded 
— Tract  Society — Character  of  its  Tracts — Pastoral  Charge  on  the 
Christian  Ministry — Fiequency  of  Bishop  Hobart's  Instructions  on 
this  Point  justified — Peculiar  Traits  of  Character — His  Notion  of  the 
Church  explained  and  vindicated — Publication  of  the  'Christian's 
Manual'  —  Ejaculatory  Prayer — Prayers  in  the  Language  of  the 
Liturgy. 

Indifference  on  the  part  of  the  laity  toward 
th«  concerns  of  the  Church,  has  aheady  been 
noted  as  one  of  the  evils  resulting  to  the 
Diocese  over  which  Bishop  Hobart  presided, 
from  early  government  patronage.  To  over- 
come this  apathy  in  the  rising  generation  of 
the  laity,  was  a  task  in  which  Bishop  Hobart 
long  labored,  and,  finally,  succeeded.  One 
by  one  he  gathered  around  him  a  band  of 
pious  young  laymen,  attached  and  zealous  co- 
workers in  every  good  cause.  Out  of  these 
materials,  at  first  scanty  in  amount,  and  influen- 
tial only  through  piety  and  zeal,  were  formed 
by  degrees,  with  his  sanction,  and  under  his 
guidance.  Church  societies  for  all  the  varied 
objects  of  Christian  benevolence. 

Thus  arose  the  Bible  and  Prayer-book  Society 


331  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

ill  1809  ;  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Tract  Soci- 
ety, in  1810  ;  the  Young  Men's  Auxihaiy  Bible 
and  Prayer-book  Society,  in  1816;  the  New- 
York  Sunday  School  Society,  in  1817;  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  ;  the  Education  Society  ;  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Press;  and  many  other 
minor  associations,  by  which  the  Church  in  this 
Diocese  has  ever  since  been  banded  together  in 
harmonious  and  concentrated  action.  It  is  due 
to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  Bishop's  memor}^,  to 
give  the  picture  of  his  interest  in  them  in  the 
words  of  one  who  was  of  them. 

'Humble  as  they  were  in  their  infant  operations,  they 
were  not  beneath  his  paternal  care.  Backward  as  our 
people  were  in  their  support,  he  was  never  discouraged  : 
he  attended  the  meetings  of  all  our  societies  whenever 
it  was  practicable,  and  was  among  the  first  to  be  pre- 
sent, and  the  last  to  retire.  He  entered  into  jhe  minutest 
details  of  their  business,  took  a  lively  interest  in  all 
their  proceedings,  noticed  every  change  in  their  condi- 
tion, suggested  expedients  for  their  improvement  when 
they  were  languishing,  and  rejoiced  at  every  appearance 
of  their  growth  and  success. 

The  Bishop  delighted  in  this  little  band.  He  animated 
them  on  all  occasions  by  his  approbation  and  praise. 
He  looked  to  their  example  for  a  succession  of  active 
laborers  in  those  societies  which  were  so  essentially 
connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  Church.  And  many 
of  them,  in  the  recollection  of  his  paternal  watchfulness 
and^regardj  still  feel  the  impulse  which  he  g^ve  to  their 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  335 

exertions^   and   go   on   in    their  course  with  unabated 
ardor  and  zeal.'  * 

But  there  is  a  further  and  a  higher  view.  If 
these  societies  exhibit  in  their  origin  Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  influential  zeal,  no  less  do  they,  in  their 
peculiar  organization,  his  prospective  wisdom. 
They  all  emanated  from  the  Church,  and  were 
bound  to  the  Church,  and  thus  constituted  an  in- 
tegral part  of  it.  The  Bishop  placed  himself  as 
the  official  head  of  each,  not,  as  som^e  superficial 
observers  thought,  from  the  wish  to  accumulate 
power  in  his  own  hands  ;  but  from  a  wise  and 
settled  policy,  in  which  he  may  be  said  to  have 
anticipated  the  now  almost  united  voice  of 
Christendom,  viz.  that  the  Church,  in  its  spi- 
ritual and  united  character,  is  the  true  society 
for  Christianizing  and  improving  the  human 
race  ;  and  that  societies  emanating  from  her 
authority,  and  operating  in  connection  with  her 
ministry,  will  be  found  in  the  long  run  more 
efficient,  as  well  as  more  safe,  than  those  which 
rest  upon  temporary  excitement,  and  voluntary 
association.  It  is  the  gradual  growth  of  this 
once  proscribed  sentiment,  which  is  now  giving 
unity  and  strength  to  all  the  movements  of  our 
Church  :  first,  they  are  made  sound  by  ema- 
nating from  episcopal  authority  ;  and,  secondly, 

♦  Dr.  Berrian's  Memoir,  p.  180. 


336  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

energetic  by  connection  with  the  general  coun- 
cils of  the  Church. 

Such  was  the  history  of  the  General  Theolo- 
gical Seminary,  of  the  General  Sunday  School 
Union,  of  the  General  Domestic  and  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  ;  and  such,  we  trust,  will  be 
the  eventual  form  of  the  Bible  and  Prayer-book 
Society,  the  Education  Society,  and  the  Press  ; 
which  as  yet  are  but  in  their  *  chrysalis  state  : ' 
they  have  yet  to  receive  a  higher  form,  and  a 
fuller  development. 

The  Tract  Society,  next  to  the  Bible  and 
Common  Prayer-book,  was  the  earliest  of  these 
associations.  The  amount  of  good  resulting 
from  its  labors  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been 
incalculable  ;  since  its  tracts  have  been  the 
precursor  of  the  missionary  in  all  parts  of  our 
country,  finding  their  way  to  the  heart,  where 
the  voice  of  the  living  preacher  could  not 
be  heard,  or  would  not  be  listened  to.  In  the 
character  of  its  tracts,  Bishop  Hobart  ran  coun- 
ter as  usual  to  the  popular  current :  that  went 
for  excitement,  he  went  for  instruction  ;  that 
was  for  incident,  he  was  for  doctrine  ;  that 
looked  to  the  present,  he  looked  to  the  future. 
In  this  latter  point  we  have  struck  upon  a  leading 
peculiarity  of  his  mind,  which  was  to  make  light 
of  immediate  results  when  compared  with  final 
ones.     He  was  for  looking  always  to  the  rule. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  337 

and  not  to  the  case  :  he  must  see  that  the  prin- 
ciple was  right  before  he  could  applaud  ;  he 
must  sum  up  the  account  before  he  could  sub- 
scribe it,  or  place  to  its  credit  any  temporary 
isolated  balance.  It  was,  in  short,  such  a  pecu- 
liarity of  mind  as  always  sets  a  man  at  vari- 
ance with  the  multitude  around  him — for  men 
taken  in  the  mass  are  ever  short-sighted :  to 
look  beyond,  and  judge  according  to  the  great 
and  permanent  consequences  of  action,  is  the 
attribute  of  the  few,  and  the  criterion  of  the 
wise  ;  and  their  reward  is,  as  might  be  expected, 
to  be  esteemed  bigots  in  their  own  age,  and 
sages  in  that  which  follows  them.  Such  is 
the  fate  of  all  sound  reformers  ;  it  was  that 
of  Bacon  :  the  language  of  his  last  will  is  proud 
and  touching, — '  I  bequeath  my  fame,'  said  he, 
'  to  posterity,  after  that  some  ages  shall  have 
gone  by.'  In  the  principle  at  least  of  this 
legacy.  Bishop  Hobart  might  have  joined;  for 
seldom  if  ever  did  a  man  throw  himself  more 
confidingly  than  he  did  upon  the  eventual  suc- 
cess of  unpopular  principles.  But  in  the  worldly 
spirit  that  craved  such  fame,  the  Christian  was 
far  above  the  philosopher.  With  him  it  was, 
in  triUli,  a  light  thing  '  to  be  judged  of  man's 
judgment,'  whether  present  or  future. 

But  to  look  at  this  matter  in  a  more  intel- 
lectual light.     Bishop   Hobart's  mind   seemed 


338  M  E  M  O  1  R     O  F 

as  if  it  never  could  rest  on  half-way  points  : 
wherever  he  took  up  his  position,  you  found  him 
standing  upon  principle  and  final  results  ;  per- 
haps he  had  jumped  to  them,  as  he  often  did,  by 
a  kind  of  instinct  ;  and  then  the  steps  of  his 
argumentation  were  not  perhaps  very  clearly  or 
logically  arranged — for  it  was  giving  to  others 
a  road  he  had  not  himself  travelled.  But  when 
he  came  to  principles,  here  he  was  ever  at 
home,  and  dwelt  and  expatiated  among  them 
as  a  spirit  might  be  supposed  to  do  in  its  native 
element. 

So,  too,  in  plans  of  Christian  benevolence. 
Compared  with  the  principle  involved,  he  rated 
lightly  all  present  advantages  ;  so  much  so  as 
to  have  been  often  charged  with  preferring  on 
these  points  the  form  to  the  spirit ;  with  how 
little  truth,  the  story  of  his  life  ma}^  show,  while 
the  ground  of  his  justification  may  be  given  in 
the  words  of  one  whom  he  admired,  and  often 
quoted.  '  The  happiness  of  the  world,'  says 
Butler,  '  is  the  concern  of  Him  who  is  the  Lord 
and  Proprietor  of  it  ;  nor  do  we  know  what  we 
are  about,  when  we  endeavor  to  promote  the 
good  of  mankind  in  any  way  but  those  which 
he  has  directed.'  "* 

Nor,  while  he  thus  devoted  himself  to  arous- 

*  Analogy. 


B  I  S  H  O  P"    H  O  B  A  R  T.  339 

ing  the  laity,  was  Bishop  Hobart  less  attentive 
ill  directing  and  counselling  his  clergy  as  be- 
came his  office,  in  all  matters  where  be  either 
saw  error  or  apprehended  danger.  This  brings 
up  the  subject  of  tbe  '  Charge'  he  delivered  to 
the  clergy,  on  '  The  Nature  of  the  Christian 
Ministry,  as  set  forth  in  the  Offices  of  Ordina- 
tion.' 


On  this  subject  of  tbe  apostolic  constitution 
of  the  Church,  Bishop  Hobart  wrote  so  much, 
and  spoke  so  much,  that  many  were  ready  to 
cast  upon  him  the  old  slur  of  being  '  all  Church 
and  no  Christ  ;'  how  unjustly  need  not  now  be 
said,  for  his  life  and  death  disproved  it.  Still, 
however,  the  charge  is  one  that  merits  a  few 
words  of  explanation  and  disproof. 

In  the  first  place  it  is  to  be  remembered,  in  ex- 
planation of  his  frequent  reiteration  of  it,  that  the 
whole  subject  was  one  little  understood,  at  that 
time,  in  our  country,  and  greatl}^  undervalued.* 
By  the  opponents  of  the  Church,  its  Episcopal 

*  That  readers  of  the  present  day  may  judge  of  the  contempt- 
uous tone  in  which  the  Church  was  then  treated  by  some  of  its 
opponents,  the  following  is  the  manner  in  which  the  consecra- 
tion of  Bishop  Seabury  was  spoken  of: — '  Having  been  invested, 
or  imagined  himself  invested,  with  certain  extraordinary  pow- 
ers, by  the  manual  imposition  of  a  few  obscure  and  ignorant 
priests  in  Scotland.' — American  Unitarianism,  p.  15. 


340  MEMOIROF 

form  of  government  was  confounded  with  the 
novelties  and  corruptions  of  Popery  ;  by  the 
ignorant  multitude  it  was  believed  to  have 
sprung  from  a  royal  government,  and  to  form 
part  of  it ;  and,  even  by  its  friends,  generall}' 
regarded  as  but  one  of  the  chance  forms  of  human 
institution,  suitable,  and,  perhaps,  binding,  as 
a  matter  of  expediency,  but  indifferent  as  a 
matter  of  principle. 

Such  being,  acknowledgedly,  the  state  of  pub- 
lic opinion  on  this  point,  the  question  is,  upon 
whom  rested  the  responsibility  of  setting  Church- 
men right  ;  now,  no  one  can  deny  but  that  the 
-station  of  Bishop  Hobart  rendered  it  peculiarly 
and  imperatively  his  duty,  and  his  province,  as 
much  so  as  in  human  government  it  is  that  of 
the  judge  to  guide  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
law,  or  the  commander  to  watch  over  the 
ordering  and  conduct  of  troops  intrusted  to 
him.  The  fact  being  admitted,  that  Church- 
men needed  instruction,  settles  the  whole  ques- 
tion,— for  if  he  neglected  it,  who  by  the  very 
nature  of  his  office,  and  the  express  language 
of  his  consecration  vow,*  was  bound  and  obli- 

♦  Are  you  ready,  with  all  faithful  diligence,  to  banish  and 
drive  away  from  the  Church  all  erroneous  and  strange  doctrine 
contrary  to  God's  word ;  and  both  privately  and  openly  to  call 
upon  and  encourage  others  to  the  same  1 

Answer.  I  am  ready,  the  Lord  being  my  helper. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  341 

gated  to  attend  to  it,  whose  duty  was  it  to  take 
it  up  ?  The  language  of  popular  censure  was, 
'  Here  is  a  minister  of  Christ  who  pleads  much 
for  the  Church,  but  comparatively  little  for  the 
Gospel.'  The  answer  is,  '  Here  is  a  minister  of 
Christ,  called  to  a  peculiar  charge  over  it, 
who,  while  he  neglects  not  the  topics  of  Chris- 
tian instruction,  common  to  himself  with  his 
clerical  brethren,  yet  dwells  peculiarly  upon 
those  which  if  neglected  by  him  would  be 
attended  to  by  none.' 

Such,  at  least,  was  Bishop  Hobart's  view  of 
his  official  duty,  and  rarely  has  the  Church  had 
an  abler,  never  a  more  faithful  leader  and 
teacher.  Having  once  chosen  the  path  of  duty, 
he  walked  in  it  unmoved,  neither  friend  nor  foe 
could  sway  him  from  it ;  he  was  neither  to  be 
allured  nor  driven. 

Something,  again,  in  this  question,  must  be 
allowed  to  that  ardor  of  character,  which  gave 
itself  so  wholly  to  the  duty  in  hand,  as  some- 
times, unquestionably,  to  run  the  risk  of  being 
comparatively  misunderstood.  Such  men,  more 
especially,  are  not  to  be  judged  of  '  piecemeal.' 
If  Scripture  itself  be  liable  to  misinterpretation 
from  such  cause,  much  more  the  language  of 
frail,  fallible  man.  If  St.  Paul  may  be  thus  ma- 
ligned, no  wonder  that  one  might  who  was  like 
him  in  character,  and  trod  in  his  footsteps,  and 

G22 


342  MEMOIR     OF 

like  him  too,  threw  himself  so  wholly,  heart 
and  soul,  into  his  argument,  as  to  seem  to  de- 
preciate the  value  of  what  was  not  then  in  ques- 
tion. But  if  Bishop  Hobart  be  thus  made  his 
own  interpreter,  all  will  be  found  consistent,  and, 
though  all  is  ardent,  yet  nothing-  is  exagge- 
rated ;  his  portrait  of  the  Christian  will  then  be 
found  to  include  the  deepest  humility,  the  most 
fervent  piety,  and  the  most  exalted  faith,  as 
well  as  the  most  devoted  attachment  to  the 
Church,  its  ministry,  and  its  sacraments.  To 
judge  him  aright,  therefore,  we  must  weigh 
him  in  all.  Those  who  looked  to  one  extreme, 
called  him  '  enthusiast ;'  those  who  looked  to  the 
other,  styled  him  '  formalist'  and  *  bigot.'  It  was 
not  every  one  whose  intellectual  grasp  could  take 
in  both  points  at  a  single  view.  His  character, 
in  truth,  was  a  rare  combination  of  extremes. 

Some  men  there  are  who  seem  all  heart  and 
no  head ;  these  give  the  material  out  of  which 
vulgar  enthusiasts  are  made  —  men  who  do 
more,  both  to  make  and  to  mar  good  designs, 
than  any  other  class  of  men  in  society,  for 
without  enthusiasm  there  is  nothing  great,  and 
yet,  with  such  enthusiasts,  there  is  nothing 
successful.  With  them  Bishop  Hobart  was 
often  confounded,  and  the  ardor  of  all  his  feel- 
ings, in  whatever  he  thought,  said,  or  did,  and 
his  apparent  disregard  of  prudential  considera- 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  O  B  ART.  343 

lions  in  the  courses  he  adopted,  seemed  to  justify 
the  belief.     But  he  loas  not  of  them. 

Others,  again,  there  are,  who  seem  all  head 
and  no  heart  ;  these  make  up  the  still  larger 
class  of  the  politic  and  the  prudent  calculators 
of  this  world.  With  these  too,  Bishop  Hobart 
was  often  confounded,  and  the  sagacity  of  his 
views,  and  the  steadiness  of  his  course,  seemed 
to  justify  this  classification,  and  to  mark  a 
decided  preponderance  in  his  character  of  judg- 
ment over  feeling.  But  neither  was  he  of  them. 
But  he  was,  as  already  said,  of  that  higher 
and  rarer  class,  who  seem  to  be  from  nature 
partakers  of  both  extremes.  Men  who  are  at 
the  same  time  circumspect  and  impassioned  ; 
all  head  to  plan,  all  heart  to  execute  ;  engaging 
all  confidence  by  their  wisdom,  and  exciting  all 
affection  by  their  simple-heartedness  ;  having, 
in  short,  the  wisdom  of  '  the  serpent  and  the 
harmlessness  of  the  dove.' 

Of  this  choice  variety,  if  it  may  be  so  termed, 
of  the  human  species.  Bishop  Hobart  may  be 
taken  as  a  fair  specimen.  His  character  was 
formed  of  opposing  elements,  which  yet  stood  so 
blended  in  the  unity  of  an  energetic  will,  that 
those  who  saw  him  nearest,  and  knew  him  best, 
still  found  it  hard  to  say  which  element  prepon- 
derated— whether  the  wise  prudence  that  fore- 
saw  and  guarded  against   Qoming   danger,  or 


344  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

the  bold-hearted  enthusiasm  that  neither  saw 
nor  regarded  it. 

Such  combination  of  character  makes,  un- 
questionably, the  ruling  men  of  the  earth;  men 
born  for  high  and  wide  influences — to  pull 
down  or  to  build  up  ;  but,  when  directed  to  noble 
ends,  its  truest  benefactors.  Such,  in  his  own 
place  and  sphere,  was  Bishop  Hobart.  The 
providence  of  God  cast  his  destinies  in  the 
Church,  at  a  time  when  such  a  leader  was  most 
wanted  in  it.  To  raise,  confirm,  and  strengthen 
it  in  doctrine,  discipline,  and  practice,  soon  be- 
came to  him,  under  the  grace  of  Goo,  it  is 
hardly  sufficient  to  say,  the  aim  of  his  life,  it 
was,  rather,  like  its  necessary  sustenance,  '  his 
daily  meat  and  drink ; '  for,  from  the  day  he 
entered  upon  it  he  seemed  to  count  every  hour 
'  lost'  that  did  not  *  tell'  in  its  advancement. 

But  there  is  a  higher  view  to  be  taken  of  hig 
course.  In  this  devotion  to  the  Church,  worldly 
minds  misunderstood  him  ;  they  read  in  it 
zeal  for  his  own  communion,  exalting  and  glo- 
rifying that  of  which  he  was  himself,  *  pars 
magna' — the  head  and  ruler  ;  but  this  was  the 
low  conception  of  narrow,  or  rather,  unspiritual 
minds.  It  was  the  Church  of  Christ  he  loved, 
and  praised,  and  magnified,  in  itself,  and  for 
itself;  as  the  ark  of  safety  to  ruined  man  ;  as 
the  appointed  medium  of  salvation  ;  as  the  con- 


BISHOP     HOBART.  345 

stituted  channel  of  grace  ;  as  the  sole  authorized 
dispenser  of  the  seals  of  that  better  covenant 
which  God,  in  mercy,  had  seen  fit  to  make 
with  ruined  man  through  a  mediator,  Christ 
Jesus. 

It  was,  therefore,  no  local,  no  temporal,  no 
present  Church  that  he  magnified,  but  one 
spiritual,  universal,  ever-during ;  having,  in- 
deed, a  visible  existence,  and  an  external  unity, 
and  a  ministry  of  divine  appointment,  but  not 
confined  to  age,  or  name,  or  nation, — running 
back  to  the  first  promise  of  a  Redeemer,,  and 
forward  to  his  final  advent ;  encircling  all  who 
receive  that  promise,  and  look  for  that  fulfil- 
ment, and  hold  to  that  faiths  and  enter  into  that 
covenant,  through  that  door  of  admission  which 
Christ  alone  hath  opened,  or  can  open.  Over 
this  divinely  constituted  body,  man,  he  argued, 
has  no  power — no  power  to  add,  no  power  to 
change — he  must  take  doctrines  as  they  are 
revealed,  sacraments  as  they  are  appointed, 
and  the  power  to  administer  them  as  Christ 
has  given  it  ;  and  all,  as  from  God,  through 
the  Saviour,  by  his  appointment.  To  blind,  sin- 
ful, lost  man,  it  alone  remains  to  receive  in  faith, 
humility,  and  gratitude,  the  seals  of  that  cove- 
nant that  makes  him  a  member  of  Christ,  a 
child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 


346  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

This  was  the  Church  that  Bishop  Hobart 
loved,  unto  which  he  lived,  and  for  which  he 
was  ever  wilUngto  offer  himself  a  sacrifice  ;  and 
that  he  labored  to  extend  it  in  all  zeal,  and 
without  compromise,  was  but  an  exhibition  of 
the  highest  and  noblest  form  of  Christian 
charity  ;  a  height  of  charity  which  the  timid, 
the  selfish,  the  indifferent,  (or,  as  the  world 
terms  them,  the  liberal,)  know  not,  a  charity 
which  can  be  felt  and  exhibited  only  by  him 
whom  *  the  truth  hath  made  free,'  and  who, 
therefore,  values  but  as  dust  in  the  balance,  all 
other  motives  than  those  of  love  and  duty  to  a 
crucified  and  ascended  Saviour. 

While  others,  therefore,  pleaded  for  amalga- 
mation, Bishop  Hobart  pleaded  for  unity  ;  while 
they  moralized  on  the  inconveniences  of  separa- 
tion, among  professing  Christians,  he  spiritualized 
on  the  sinfulness  of  schism  in  that  Church  which 
is  the  body  of  Christ. 

This  matter  of  '  schism '  was  then,  and,  per- 
haps, is  still,  so  little  thought  of  by  the  many, 
among  professing  Christians,  as  to  be  hardly 
understood;  and  the  author  well  remembers  the 
surprise  manifested  by  some  who  should  have 
known  better,  when  upon  Southey's  '  Life  of 
Wesley'  coming  out,  the  Bishop  objected  to  it 
that  the  author  had  not  sufficiently  dwelt  on  the 


B  I  S  H  O  P      H  O  B  A  R  T.  347 

sill  of  schism  involved  in  the  separation  of  the 
Methodists  from  the  English  Church. 

But,  thanks  be  to  God,  times  are  changed,  or 
at  least,  changing  ;  not  only  do  Churchmen 
understand  it  better,  but  other  parts  of  Protest- 
ant Christendom  seem  now  about  to  awaken 
from  their  long  dream  of  *  self-seeking'  division. 
The  well-nigh  lost  notion  among  them  of  the 
one  pure,  primitive,  catholic,  and  apostolic 
Church,  seems  to  be  reviving,  and  putting 
forth  the  leaves  of  promise.  By  such,  the 
language  of  Bishop  Hobart  begins  now  to  be 
understood  and  valued  ;  once  it  seemed  to 
them  but  as  a  '  remnant  of  Popery,'  they  now 
see  it  in  connection  with  the  parting  prayer 
of  their  Lord  and  Master,  for  all  that  should 
believe  in  his  name,  *  that  they  might  be  one.* 

But,  however  it  bear  upon  Bishop  Hobart's 
opinions,  the  truth  itself  is  unquestionably 
springing  up  and  extending  among  Christians. 
The  Church  in  its  scriptural,  primitive,  and 
spiritual  acceptation,  is,  in  our  day,  beginning 
to  be  magnified,  by  those  who  once  thought 
little  of  it — '  Cum  bono  Deo  :'  to  apply  to  it 
the  language  of  one  of  our  older  divines,  '  It  is 
set  up,  and,  without  pretending  to  prophesy,  we 
may  say  it  will  stand ;  it  will  go  on  and  prosper, 
until  this  drop  become  a  river,  and  that  river 


348  MEMOIR     OF 

increase   unto   a  sea,  that  may  encompass  all 
lands.'* 


Among  the  proofs  of  Bishop  Hobart's  equal 
zeal  in  impressing  vital  piety,  as  in  urging 
Church  unity,  a  small  work  edited  by  him,  about 
this  time,  deserves  mention,  and  the  very  men- 
tion, is  the  proof;  for  it  is  only  the  awakened 
heart  that,  amid  so  much  necessary  labor,  could 
have  found  time  for  such  voluntary  addition. 

The  volume  bears  date  1814,  and  is  entitled, 
'  The  Christian's  Manual.'  The  dialogues  in 
it  are  selected  and  altered  from  an  English  work 
of  similar  title,  '  The  Village  Manual.'  '  In  the 
revision  of  them,'  says  the  Preface,  '  the  Editor 
has  made  considerable  alterations  in  style,  and 
occasionally  amplified  the  sentiment.  It  is  the 
object  of  them  to  exhibit  and  enforce  the  various 
exercises,  duties,  and  privileges  of  the  Christian 
life,  to  awaken  the  careless,  to  excite  the  luke- 
warm, and  to  instruct  and  comfort  the  penitent 
believer.' 

The  volume  contains  also  an  exhortation  to 
ejaculatory  prayer,  with  suitable  forms.  These 
are  taken  chiefly  from  a  treatise  on  that  subject 
recommended  by  Bishop  Home,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  Jones,  of  Nayland,  both  great  favorites  of 

*  Leslie,  Preface  to  Case  of  Regale,  &c. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  349 

Bishop  Hobart,  but  altered  and  enlarged  by  hinn, 
for  it  was  a  practice  too  consonant  with  his  own 
feelings  and  iiabits  to  pass  from  him  without 
adding  his  sanction  ;  and  his  biographer  well 
remembers  the  warm  and  affectionate  interest 
with  which  at  the  time  Bishop  Hobart  urged  it 
upon  him,  as  a  habit  of  personal  devotion, 
as  a  solace  and  comfort  we  can  always  com- 
mand, even  amid  the  turmoils  of  the  most  busy 
life,  keeping  the  thoughts  right,  and  the  heart 
ready. 

In  confirmation  of  tliis  sentiment,  and-  as 
illustrating  the  practical  value  of  this  habit  of 
mental  prayer,  the  author  would  add  the  testi- 
mony of  the  celebrated  Christian  philanthropist, 
Francke  of  Halle.  When  asked  by  what  means 
he  was  able  to  maintain,  amid  much  outward 
trouble,  so  constant  a  peace  of  mind,  his  reply 
was,  in  the  spirit,  and  almost  in  the  words  of 
Bishop  Hobart,  '  By  stirring  up  my  mind  to  prayer 
a  hundred  times  a  day.  Wherever  I  am,  and 
whatever  I  am  doing,  I  say,  "  Blessed  Jesus, 
strengthen  me  !  blessed  Jesus,  direct  me  !  "  ' 

The  preface  closes  with  his  usual  humble 
appreciation  of  his  own  labors.  *  The  editor,' 
says  he,  '  has  thought  that  the  various  articles 
in  this  volume  were  admirably  calculated  to 
excite  and  cherish  evangelical  and  fervent  piety, 
he  has,  therefore,  felt  himself  gratified  in  the 

Hb 


350  MEMOIR     OF 

humble  office  of  compiling  this  manual  of  Chris- 
tian faith  and  devotion,  and  presenting  it  to  the 
pubhc' 

But  here,  as  usual,  the  editor  underrated  his 
own  work  ;  for  in  addition  to  editing,  he  had 
also  prepared  and  added  to  the  volume,  prayers 
suited  to  all  occasions,  in  language  he  always 
loved,  that  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer ; 
observing  that  he  '  experienced  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  finding  how  admirably  the  language 
of  the  Liturgy  and  Offices  of  the  Church  is 
adapted  for  the  purposes  of  private  devotion.' 
To  exhibit  this  was  a  frequent  and  favorite  topic 
with  him,  both  in  conversation  and  writing. 
*  If  Churchmen,'  he  used  to  say,  *  would  but 
make  themselves  familiar  with  the  language  of 
the  prayers,  and  accustom  themselves  in  private 
to  pray  in  this  language,  they  would  never  be 
at  a  loss  for  terms  the  most  appropriate  and 
affecting  in  which  to  express  the  devout  feelings 
of  their  hearts.' 

The  following  testimony  to  the  same  effect 
comes  from  a  less  suspected  quarter.  In 
the  last  public  address  made  by  the  late  Dr. 
Bedell,  of  Philadelphia,  he  observed  that  a  Pres- 
byterian having  said  to  him,  '  I  do  think  those 
who  are  pious  in  the  Episcopal  Church  pray 
better  than  any  people  I  have  ever  heard  : ' — his 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  351 

answer  was,  '  My  clear  Sir,  Episcopalians  have 
been  so  much  in  the  habit  of  praying  in  the 
language  of  the  Prayer-book,  that  they  cannot 
make  bad  prayers.  It  is  more  difficult  for  an 
Episcopalian  (familiar  as  he  ought  to  be  with 
his  Prayer-book)  to  make  a  bad  prayer  than  a 
good  one.' 

A  sermon  published  by  him  this  year,  like- 
wise deserves  notice.  On  the  13th  of  April, 
1815,  a  day  appointed  by  the  civil  authorities  as 
a  day  of  thanksgiving  on  the  return  of  peace, 
Bishop  Hobart  delivered  an  eloquent  and  ap- 
propriate discourse  in  his  parish  church  of  Tri- 
nity, New-York,  which  was  soon  after  printed, 
bearing  the  title  of  '  The  Security  of  a  Nation.' 
The  nature  of  the  occasion  made  it  an  exciting 
theme  ;  but  still  it  is  turned  by  the  preacher 
rather  to  admonition  than  congratulation.  Na- 
tional security,  he  teaches  his  hearers,  is  to  be 
found  only  in  virtue  and  religion  :  in  public 
spirit  as  opposed  to  a  selfish  one  ;  in  virtuous 
habits  as  opposed  to  indolence,  luxury,  and 
licentiousness  ;  but  above  all,  in  the  national  ac- 
knowledgment of  God's  providence,  and  in  a 
heartfelt  submission  to  the  Gospel.  Few  men, 
indeed,  felt  more  deeply  than  Bishop  Hobart,  or 
argued  more  convincingly,  the  necessity  of  reli- 
gion to  tiie  well-being  of  a  state.  '  Man  does 
not  feel  himself  safe,'  said  he,  on  another  occa- 


352  MEMOIROF 

sion,  *  even  with  his  fellow-man,  loosened  from 
the  restraints  of  religion  ;  he  cannot  live  with- 
out its  consolations  ;  he  cannot  enter  on  futu- 
rity without  its  hopes.'  The  concluding  passage 
of  the  sermon  is  a  fair  sample  of  its  style. 


*  Brethren, — We  live  in  a  most  eventful  period  of  the 
world.  Wars  and  revolutions  have  rolled  the  tide  of 
misery  and  desolation  through  the  fairest  portions  of 
the  globe.  It  seemed  as  if,  provoked  by  the  impiety  and 
crimes  with  which  the  earth  groaned,  the  Eternal  had 
said  to  the  angels  of  destruction,  Pvt  ye  in  the  sickle, for 
the  harvest  is  ripe.  It  seemed  as  if  he  were  about  to 
shake  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  the  sea  and  the  dry 
land.  It  seemed  as  if  the  sun  would  be  turned  into 
blackness,  and  the  moon  into  blood — as  if  the  great  and 
terrible  day  of  the  Lord  Avere  come.  We  beheld  the 
tremendous  scene.  At  a  distance  we  beheld  it — we 
panted  in  the  agony  of  terror,  lest  the  flood  of  desolation 
should  roll  hither-  Its  .remotest  waves  had  reached  us 
— when  He  who  sitteth  on  high,  said.  Be  still.  The 
Lord  hath  given  rest  to  the  warring  nations — the  Lord 
hath  given  to  a  troubled  world  the  blessing  of  peace. 

Known  only  to  him  whose  counsel  is  sure,  are  the 
destinies  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and,  among 
them,  of  our  country.  It  is  not  for  me  to  presume  to 
open  the  scenes  of  futurity.  But  there  is  one  ground  of 
confidence  which  no  terror  can  shake.     He  who  put- 

TETH  HIS  TRUST    IN  THE    LoRD    SHALL    NEVER    BE  MOVED. 

He  need  not  fear — the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  him. 
And  though  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  ;  though  the 
elements  shall  melt ;  though  the  earth  shall  be  burned 


BISHOP      HOBART.  353 

up ;  there  is  a  new  heaven  and  a  neW  earth,  in  whieli 
shall  be  his  portion  for  ever. 

Blessed  are  the  people  who  have  the  Lord  for  their 
God.'* 

But  bow  blind  is  man  to  tbe  events  of  the 
future  !  before  the  sermon  could  be  issued  from 
the  press,  proclaiming  the  *fiat'  of  universal 
peace,  the  '  dogs  of  war '  were  again  loosed — 
the  '  man  of  destiny,'  as  Napoleon  has  been 
impiously  termed,  broke  forth  from  his  temporary 
hiding-place,  and  Europe  w^as  again  deluged 
with  blood.  This  sudden  change  sent  forth 
the  discourse  with  this  note  appended. 

'  Since  this  sermon  was  printed,  intelligence  has  been 
received  of  the  extraordinary  elevation  of  the  individual 
whose  sudden  depression  appeared  the  signal  of  repose 
to  troubled  Europe.  It  may  be  the  design  of  the  right- 
eous Governor  of  the  universe,  in  permitting  this  asto- 
nishing revolution,  still  further  to  scourge  the  nations. 
This  apprehension  adds  force  to  the  sentiment  con- 
tained in  the  following  sermon  ;  and  more  powerfully 
urges  upon  us  the  duty  of  cherishing  those  public  vir- 
tues which  alone  can  secure  to  a  people  the  favor  of 
the  Most  High,  and  avert  the  judgments  of  his  provi- 
dence.' t 

We  close  the  history  of  this  trying  year  to 
Bishop  Hobart,  with  the  record  of  his  highest 

♦  '  Security  of  a  Nation,'  pp.  20,  21. 
t  Ibid,  prefatory  note,  p.  1. 
Hii2 


354  MEMOIROF 

official  act.  In  the  month  of  November  he 
visited  Philadelphia  a  second  time,  for  the 
purpose  of  uniting  in  the  consecration  of  a 
bishop.  This  was  of  the  Rev.  John  Croes,  D.  D., 
for  the  Church  in  New- Jersey,  which  was 
now,  for  the  first  time,  organized  under  its  own 
spiritual  head.  From  this  time,  therefore,  it 
ceased  to  make  those  calls  upon  Bishop  Hobart, 
which  he  had  hitherto,  from  time  to  time,  amid 
all  his  own  labors,  both  cheerfully  accepted  and 
faithfully  fulfilled. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  355 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
A.D.   ISie—JEt.  41. 

Death  of  Bishop  Moore  —  Funeral  Address  —  Eulogium  —  Essay  on 
State  of  departed  Spirits — Reputation  as  a  Biblical  Critic — Article 
on  the  Creed — Various  Opinions — Letter  to  Bishop  White — His 
Opinions — Letter  of  Bishop  Skinner — Bishop  Hobart's  Views  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland — Letters  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie — Arch- 
deacon Stracban — Candidate  for  Confirmation  instructed — Prejudice 
against  Bishop  Hobart's  Views  of  Regeneration — Explained  s^nd  De- 
fended— Oneida  Indians. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Moore,  which  occurred 
27th  February,  1816,  advanced  Bishop  Hobart 
from  the  rank  of  Assistant  to  that  of  Diocesan  ; 
the  change,  however,  was  but  a  nominal  one. 
From  the  shock  of  his  first  attack,  five  years 
previous,  Bishop  Moore  had  never  fully  re- 
covered. It  was  a  long  and  painful  decline, 
one  which  Christian  faith  alone  could  gild,  and 
the  devotion  of  affection  alone  could  comfort. 

To  the  writer,  it  affords  matter  of  painful  yet 
pleasing  remembrance,  that  he  enjoyed  fre- 
quently the  privilege  of  a  relative,  and  a  son  in 
the  ministry,  that  of  being  admitted  to  the 
chamber  of  the  invalid  ;  for  he  never  quitted  it 
without  a  feeling  of  veneration   and    sorrow. 


S56  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

which,  he  trusts,  softened  his  own  heart  to  the 
deeper  admission  of  that  faith  which  he  there 
saw  so  touchingly  exempUfied. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  death.  Bishop  Hobart, 
being  in  the  city,  deUvered  a  funeral  discourse 
over  the  body.  It  was  one  full  of  feeling,  and 
spoke  justly  the  merits  of  that  meek  and  holy 
prelate,  upon  whose  responsibilities  he  was  him- 
self then  entering.  After  a  brief  outline  of  his 
life,  he  thus  sums  up  the  career  of  one  whom 
he  characterized  as,  *  the  finished  scholar,  and 
the  well-furnished  divine*' 

'  Love  for  the  Church  was  the  paramount  principle 
that  animated  him.  He  entered  on  her  services  in  the 
time  of  trouble.  Steady  in  his  principles,  yet  mild  and 
prudent  in  advocating  them,  he  never  sacrificed  con- 
sistency, he  never  provoked  resentment.  In  proportion 
as  adversity  pressed  upon  the  Church,  was  the  affection 
with  which  he  clung  to  her.  And  he  lived  until  he  saw 
her,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  by  his  counsel  and 
exertions,  raised  from  the  dust,  and  putting  on  the  gar- 
ments of  glory  and  beauty.  It  was  this  affection  for 
the  Church  which  animated  his  episcopal  labors ; 
which  led  him  to  leave  that  family  whom  he  so  tenderly 
loved,  and  that  retirement  which  was  so  dear  to  him, 
and  where  he  found  while  he  conferred  enjoyment,  and 
to  seek,  in  remote  parts  of  the  Diocese,  for  the  sheep 
of  Christ's  fold.'* 

•  Address,   p,  16. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  357 

The  language  too  of  his  personal  eulogium 
was  just  and  unstrained  : — 

'  A  grace  allied  to  simplicity  was  the  meekness  that 
adorned  him — a  meekness  that  was  "  not  easily  pro- 
voked ;"  that  never  made  display  of  talents,  of  learning, 
or  of  station ;  a  meekness  that  condescended  to  the  most 
ignorant  and  humble,  and  won  their  confidence.  While 
associated  with  dignity,  it  commanded  respect  and  ex- 
cited affection  in  the  circles  of  rank  and  influence ;  and 
it  was  a  meekness  that  pursued  the  dictates  of  duty 
with  firmness  and  perseverance.'  * 

In  noticing  the  event  in  his  annual  ad<iress 
to  the  Conv^ention,  his  language  is  to  the  same 
point.  '  The  remembrance  of  his  talents  and 
his  learning,  his  insinuating  eloquence,  his 
faithful  labors,  and  his  exemplary  piety  and 
virtue,  will  long  be  cherished  by  us,  and  by  the 
Diocese,  with  affectionate  veneration.'  f 

The  death  of  Bishop  Moore  having  vacated 
the  rectorship  of  Trinity  Church,  to  this  sta- 
tion also  Bishop  Hobart  was  immediately  ad- 
vanced, while  his  friend  Dr.  How  followed  him 
as  Assistant  Rector. 

In  bidding  farewell  to  the  name  of  one  so  justly 
endeared  to  the  Church,  a  few  earlier  facts  de- 
serve to  be  recorded.   Bishop  Moore  was  born  Oc- 

♦  Address,  p.  14. 

+  Journal,  181C,  p.  13. 


358  MEMOIROF 

tober  5th,  1740,  at  Newtown,  Long-Island,  of  a 
family  even  still  looked  up  to  as  the  patriarchal 
head  of  that  quiet  and  retired  village.  His  classi- 
cal education  was  at  King's  College,  New-York, 
"Where  he  graduated  in  1768  ;  his  professional 
one  was  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Auchmuty,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church.  He  went 
to  England  in  May,  1774.  In  June,  of  the  same 
year,  was  ordained  both  deacon  and  priest,  {the 
successive  ordinations  being  within  the  space 
of  a  week,)  by  Richard  Terrick,  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, On  his  return,  he  was  appointed  an  assist- 
ant in  Trinity  to  his  friend  and  Rector,  Dr. 
Auchmuty,  who  was  soon  after  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Inglis,  afterward  Bishop  of  Nova 
Scotia.  Tiiroughout  the  revolutionary  contest, 
while  Nev/-York  was  held  by  the  British,  he  con- 
tinued at  his  post — we  will  not  say  against  his 
political  attachments,  but  we  will  say,  in  the  path 
of  his  Christian  duty  ;  since,  even  had  it  been 
otherwise,  he  was  not  one  lightly  to  confound  the 
questions  of  human  allegiance  with  his  para- 
mount duty  as  the  subject  of  a  kingdom  *not  of 
this  world.' 

This  '  Funeral  Address,'  when  published,  was 
accompanied  with  a  voluminous  appendix,  being 
a  dissertation  on  a  subject  touched  upon  in  the 
discourse,  viz.  '  The  State  of  departed  Spirits.' 
On  this  subject,  so  dark,  and  yet  so  attractive, 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  359 

Bishop  Hobart  maintains  what  is  termed  the 
doctrine  of  '  an  intermediate  state,'  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  two  opinions  of  *  the  sleep  of 
the  soul,'  until  the  day  of  judgment,  or  its  pass- 
ing at  once  to  its  final  destination  of  happiness 
or  misery.  His  argument  is,  that  such  doctrine 
is  at  the  same  time  most  scriptural  and  most 
rational,  supported  by  the  highest  authorities, 
and  implied,  if  not  directly  taught,  in  all  the 
formularies  of  the  Church.  This  was  one  of 
the  few  occasions  on  which,  in  his  wntings, 
Bishop  Hobart  chose  to  appear  as  the  biblical 
critic  and  scholar ;  and  it  increased  greatly 
the  wonder  of  those  who  kncAv  his  active 
life,  how  he  found  time  for  so  much  research 
and  book  learning. 

But,  should  his  biographer  venture  to  pass 
judgment,  it  would  be,  that  scholarship, 
whether  critical  or  dogmatic,  however  here  dis- 
played, was  not  his  stronghold ;  and  that  his 
mind  grappled  much  more  successfully  with 
practical  or  moral,  than  with  verbal  or  historical 
questions.  •  His  mind,  neither  by  nature  nor 
habit,  was  critically  turned  ;  he  cared  little  for 
the  detail  of  facts  compared  with  principles,  and 
still  less  for  mere  words  apart  from  their  moral 
influences.  He  used  language,  in  short,  as 
an  instrument  rather  of  power  than  of  know- 
ledge,    and,    consequently,    paid    little    atten- 


360  MEMOIROF 

tion  to  those  nicer  gradations  of  meaning  with 
which  the  critic  is  mainly  concerned.  The 
result  of  all  this,  combined  with  his  busy  life, 
was,  that  his  knowledge  of  opinions  never 
attained  that  profoundness,  nor  his  speculations 
upon  them  that  metaphysical  precision  which 
is  essential  to  the  higher  ranks  of  biblical  criti- 
cism. He  had,  however,  one  trait  of  a  more 
practical  character,  and  the  work  before  us 
strikingly  illustrates  it,  —  the  talent  of  rapid 
acquisition,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  of  what- 
ever knowledge  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
demanded. 

The  bearing  given  by  Bishop  Hobart  to 
this  doctrinal  discussion  was  the  fuller  es- 
tablishment of  the  article  in  the  Creed,  of 
Christ's  descent  into  hell.  This  article,  as 
already  mentioned,  was  originally  omitted  in 
the  '  Proposed  Book  '  of  the  American  Liturgy, 
in  1785,  and  was  that  alteration  which  most 
excited  the  fears  of  the  English  Bishops  of  a 
tendency  to  Socinianism  in  the  new  Church  of 
the  colonies.  They  had  objected,  therefore, 
most  pointedly  to  the  omission  of  it,  and  were  at 
length  hardly  satisfied  with  its  doubtful  restora- 
tion, as  it  now  stands  in  the  rubric,  with  an 
alias,  or  discretionary  rejection.  So  dubious, 
indeed,  was  their  approval,  that  Bishop  White, 
in  the  official  report  he  sent  home  of  his  conse- 


B  I  SH  O  P     II  0  B  AR  T.  361 

cration,  expresses  his  great  pleasure,  if  not  sur- 
prise, at  seeing  among  his  consecrators  tlie 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  who  had  most  stren- 
uously insisted  on  its  restoration.  On  this  point 
Bishop  Hobart  was  fully  in  accordance  with 
them,  and  never  exercised  the  discretion  (as 
who  now  does'?)  of  its  omission  or  rubrical  sub- 
stitute. The  feeling  that  thus  restrained  him 
was  not  only  the  sanctity  of  that  primitive  for- 
mulary, and  pass-word  of  our  baptismal  faith, 
as  too  venerable  to  be  tampered  with ;  there 
was  a  higher  motive,  it  was  the  barrier  against 
error.  The  article  in  question  was  a  clear  con- 
futation, as  he  regarded  it,  of  the  Materialist, 
who  would  make  death  a  total  extinction  of 
being  ;  of  the  Socinian,  who  would  convert  it 
into  a  sleep  of  the  soul  ;  and  of  the  erring 
Christian,  who  would  prejudge  the  judgment 
of  the  last  day,  by  following  the  blest  at 
once  to  their  happy  abodes  in  heaven.  But 
this  is  a  point  in  which  it  certainly  becomes 
us  not  to  be  too  dogmatic;  and  if  the  author 
might  here  venture  an  expression,  it  would  be 
of  his  desire  to  leave  the  whole  subject  in  that 
twilight,  as  it  were,  of  faith,  where  Scripture  has 
placed  it,  and  our  Church,  in  its  wisdom,  has 
been  content  to  leave  it — a  fountain  inexhaust- 
ible of  spiritual  contemplation  and  comfort,  but 
a  doctrine  (if  doctrine  it  must  be  termed)  of 

li 


36-2  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

contemplative  rather  than  systematic  theology. 
On  one  point,  however,  the  heart  speaks,  and 
that,  where  Scripture  is  silent,  we  may  well 
deem  no  light  evidence.  It  is,  that  the  spirits 
of  the  departed  just,  whether  as  yet  made  per- 
fect or  not,  lose  not  their  hold,  either  in  affec- 
tion or  influence,  on  those  whom  in  sorrow  they 
leave  behind  ;  that  under  the  providential  eco- 
nomy of  God,  which  employs  for  good  all  the 
creatures  of  his  will,  they  become  ministering 
spirits,  to  guide  and  to  guard,  as  with  a  purer 
love,  so  with  a  higher  power,  those  to  whom  on 
earth  they  were  dearest.  The  analogies  of 
God's  providence,  so  far  as  our  vision  reaches, 
mark  and  make  probable  such  unbroken  chain 
of  spiritual  influence  ;  the  glimpses  afforded  by 
Scripture  of  that  better  state  v/hich  no  eye  hath 
seen,  justify  the  analogy  ;  and,  above  all,  the 
*  faith  of  the  heart'  in  such  influences,  when  its 
deepest,  holiest,  purest  affections  are  awakened, 
and  when,  consequently,  it  may  be  concluded 
nearest  to  the  vision  of  '  things  invisible,'  all  go 
to  maintain,  not,  indeed,  as  dogmatic  doctrine, 
but  still  as  spiritual  truth,  the  conviction  that 
it  is  but  flesh  and  sense  that  hides  from  us  the 
guardian  presence  of  those  whom  we  have  loved 
and  lost.  To  borrow  language  which,  though 
poetry,  is  yet  high  philosophy — 


BISHOP     HOBART.  363 

*  How  oft  do  they  their  silver  bowers  leave 

To  come  to  succor  us  who  succor  vpant ; 
How  oft  do  they  with  golden  pinions  cleave 

The  flitting  air,  like  flying  pursuivant, 

Against  foul  fiends  to  aid  us  militant ; 
They  for  us  fight ;  they  watch  and  duly  ward, 

And  their  bright  squadrons  round  about  us  plant, 
And  all  for  love  and  nothing  for  reward. 
Oh  !  how  should  highest  Heaven  to  man  have  such  regard.' 

But  to  return  to  our  subject.  The  discourse 
itself  excited  much  interest,  and  is  noticed  with 
approbation  by  many  of  his  correspondents,  as 
will  appear  from  one  or  two  of  the  following 
letters.  The  first,  however,  in  the  order  of  tiine, 
is  from  the  Bishop's  own  pen,  and  contains  an 
answer  to  some  exceptions  that  had  been  taken 
to  his  '  Charge  to  the  Clergy,'  by  one  whom  he 
regarded  alike  with  veneration  and  love. 

TO  BISHOP  WHITE. 

'  NexO'York,  February  28,  1816. 

Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

Your  letters  of  the  19th  and  20th  instant,  arrived 
during  my  absence  in  Connecticut,  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  confirmation  in  some  congregations  there,  and 
of  consecrating  the  church  in  New-Haven. 

For  the  information  contained  in  your  letter  I  feel 
myself  exceedingly  obliged  to  you,  but  I  am  surprised^ 
and  somewhat  mortified,  because  it  was  sincerely  an 
object  with  me  to  express  myself  in  a  way  to  escape 
your  disapprobation.     With  respect  to  the  Episcopacy, 


364  M  E  JI  O  I  R     O  F 

I  think  it  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  take  your 
seventh  lecture,  in  your  work  on  the  Catechism,  and 
justify  by  it  all  that  I  have  said.  At  the  sentences  at 
the  bottom  of  page  157,  and  continued  at  page  158,  you 
certainly  avow  it  the  sentiment  of  our  Church,  that 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  are  of  divine  appointment. 
You  renew  the  same  sentiment  in  the  last  sentence  of 
the  second  paragraph  of  page  1 58.  At  the  end  of  the 
next  paragraph,  you  speak  of  succession  as  the  only 
mode  of  transmitting  that  ministry  which  is  of  divine 
institution.  At  the  end  of  the  paragraph  in  the  160th 
page,  you  speak  of  the  door  of  entry  opened  by  the  Head 
of  the  Church  as  the  only  one  through  which  the  char- 
acter of  a  pastor  in  the  Church  can  be  obtained.  In 
this  lecture,  and  your  dissertation  on  Episcopacy,  you 
prove,  at  great  length,  that  the  order  of  bishops  is  of 
divine  institution.  Now  a  convert  to  your  opinions, 
who  believes  that  there  is  no  ministry  but  of  divine 
institution — no  divine  institution  where  there  is  not 
succession,  and  that  bishops,  possessing  the  power  of 
ordination,  are  of  divine  institution,  and  thus  the  line  in 
which  the  succession  was  originally  placed,  would,  I 
humbly  conceive,  find  it  very  difficult  to  prove  that 
these  divine  institutions,  relative  to  the  ministry  might 
be  altered,  and  yet  the  ministry  remain  in  its  essential 
powers  ;  and  would  be  much  at  a  loss  to  reconcile,  with 
these  high-church  notions,  the  concessions  which  seem 
to  me  to  make  Episcopacy  pretty  much  a  matter  of 
human  expediency.  It  is  now  more  than  twenty  years, 
since  I  have  labored  with  great  sincerity,  and  with  in- 
tense thought,  to  reconcile  your  principles,  with  respect 
to  Episcopacy,  with  your  concessions,  and,  unfortunately, 
the  more  I  think,  the  more  distant  I  seem  from  my  object. 
Still,  Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  such  is  my  veneration  for 


BI  SHO  P     H  OB  ART.  365 

you,  early  impressed,  growing  with  the  growth,  and 
strengthening  with  the  strength  of  years,  and  such  the 
extreme  pain  and  hesitation  with  which  I  differ  from 
you,  that  I  am  always  cautious  of  expressing  that  dif- 
ference, even  where  it  exists.  And,  therefore,  I  avoided 
in  my  charge  stating  that  Episcopacy  was  "  obligatory, 
like  the  sacraments,  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances of  the  Church  ;  "  *  or  that  there  was  no  excep- 
tion to  my  principle  of  its  unalterable  obligation  "  in 
cases  of  imperious  necessity."!  A  thing  may  be,  in 
general,  I  conceive,  unalterably  binding,  and  yet,  may 
be  dispensed  with  in  cases  of  imperious  necessity. 
Very  sincerely,  &c. 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

The  following  passage,  from  a  Charge  re- 
cently delivered  by  the  eminent  individual  to 
whom  the  above  letter  is  addressed,  proves  that 
years  have  approximated  his  opinions  still  some- 
what nearer  to  those  which  he  seems  here  to 
have  criticised,  if  not  condemned.  Having 
presided  for  half  a  century  in  the  councils  of 
his  Diocese,  he  thus  delivers  to  its  clergy  and 
laity  the  legacy  of  his  matured  judgment. 

*  It  was  expedient,'  says  he,  '  briefly  to  lay  the  ground 
for  the  charge  to  be  now  given,  with  the  hope  of  its  being 
acted  on  by  those  who  shall  be  associated  with  or  shall 
succeed  us  in  the  ministry,  that  they  may  consistently 
sustain  ihis  point  of  the  divine  institution  of  the  Episco- 

•  Catechism,  p.  173.  t  Ibid.  p.  425. 

I  i  2 


366  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

pacy,  not  accommodating,  in  the  least  degree,  to  the 
contrary  opinion.  When  this  characteristic  of  our 
communion  is  lost  sight  of,  under  any  specious  plea  of 
accommodation  to  popular  prejudice,  instead  of  being 
conciliatory,  as  is  imagined,  it  brings  conflicting 
opinions  into  view,  to  the  loss  of  Christian  charity  ;  or, 
if  this  be  not  the  consequence,  to  the  sacrifice  of  a  truth 
of  Scripture.'  * 

PROM  REV.  J.    SKINNER. 

'  Forfar  J  North  Britain^  February  26,  1816. 
Rev.  Sir, 

I  have  for  a  long  season  meditated  the  making  my 
acknowledgments  to  you  for  the  "  Armor  Invincible," 
which  you  put  into  my  hands  when  called  upon,  as  a 
son,  to  defend  the  character  of  a  reverend  father ;  and,  as 
a  sound  Churchman,  to  repel  one  of  the  most  malignant 
attacks  ever  made  upon  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus," 
and  the  divinely-instituted  "  pillar  of  truth,"  the  Catho- 
lic Church,  her  ministry,  and  discipline. 

Having  observed,  at  last,  a  ship  destined  to  proceed 
direct  from  Dundee,  in  my  vicinity,  to  New-York,  I 
gladly  embrace  the  opportunity  afforded  me  of  testifying 
my  humble  admiration  of  your  invaluable  "  Apology  for 
Apostolic  Order  and  its  advocates." 

In  circumstances  and  situation  almost  precisely  the 
same,  the  Episcopal  Church  of  America  and  Scotland 
ou""ht  ever  to  feel  a  lively  interest  in  each  other's  pros- 
perity. It  gives  me  heartfelt  pleasure  to  inform  you, 
as  an  approved  friend  of  primitive  truth  and  order, 
that  the  venerable  portion  of  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ  to  which  I  belong,  after  having  been  subjected 


♦  « 


The  Past  and  Future,'  Bishop  White's  Charge,  1834. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  3r)7 

to  a  whole  century  of  ignominy,  contempt,  and  scorn, 
is  hourly  advancing  in  respectability  at  home,  and  in 
esteem  abroad.  The  exertions  of  her  friends,  not  more 
distinguished  by  their  rank  in  the  state  than  by  their 
own  personal  worth,  have  procured  for  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Scotland  even  royal  patronage.  An  Epis- 
copal fund  has  been  established,  to  which  the  whole 
bench  of  Bishops  in  England,  as  also  the  Universities 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  have  liberally  subscribed. 
This  produces  already  1001.  per  annum  to  the  Bishop  of 
Edinburgh ;  Avith  501.  per  annum  to  four  other  bishops 
and  60/.  to  my  venerable  father,  as  Primus,  who  would 
receive  no  more ;  besides  an  allowance  to  the  poorer 
clergy.  Two  new  chapels  are  about  to  be  erected  in 
Edinburgh,  which  will  cost  30,000/.  The  son  of  the 
late  estimable  Bishop  Horsley  officiates  in  a  chapel  in 
Dundee,  which  cost,  about  five  years  ago,  7000Z. ;  and 
my  father  and  brother  are  about  to  erect  one  in  Aber- 
deen, at  nearly  an  equal  expense.  In  fact,  no  town  in 
Scotland,  of  any  respectability,  is  without  a  handsome 
Episcopal  chapel,  and  a  clergyman  of  talents  and  ac- 
quirements ;  so  that,  contrasted  with  those  troublous 
times,  when  three  or  four  Episcopalians  were  not  per- 
mitted to  meet  together,  the  change  in  our  situation  is 
great.  To  God  alone  the  praise  is  due.  *  *  * 
Your  hearty  well  wisher. 
And  truly  faithful  servant  in  Christ, 

J.  Skinner.' 

The  letter  here  given  recalls  to  the  writer 
Bishop  Hobart's  feelings,  so  often  expressed, 
both  in  conversation  and  writing,  toward  the 
*  long  suffering'  Church  of  Scotland  ;  they  were 


368  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

those  of  pity  and  admiration.  They  were  first 
excited,  as  he  said,  by  the  debt  of  gratitude 
we  owed  her  for  our  earliest  bishop ;  but 
subsequently  confirmed  and  strengthened  by 
an  examination  into  her  painful  history,  and  by 
the  apostolic  purity  and  simplicity  that  prevail 
in  her  doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline.  On 
this  point  he  often  referred  to  the  language  of 
one  who  was  always  with  him  high  authority. 
'  From  the  primitive  orthodoxy,  piety,  and  de- 
pressed state  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scot- 
land,' said  Bishop  Horsley,  '  I  cannot  but  think 
that  if  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  were 
now  upon  earth,  and  it  were  put  to  his  choice, 
with  what  deno.nination  of  Christians  he  would 
communicate,  the  preference  would  probably  be 
given  to  the  Episcopalians  of  Scotland,  as  most 
like  to  the  people  he  had  been  used  to.' 

Although  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Seabury 
forms  no  necessary  link  in  the  chain  of  the 
American  Episcopate,  the  subsequent  conse- 
cration of  Bishop  Madison  having  made  good, 
with  Bishops  White  and  Provoost,  the  canon- 
ical number  direct  from  the  Church  of  England, 
siill  it  is  pleasing  to  find  such  testimony  in  favor 
of  the  Church  whence  it  was  obtained  ;  and  the 
interest  it  excites  with  American  Episcopalians, 
may  render  not  unacceptable  a  few  words  in  re- 
lation to  its  subsequent  history. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  369 

While  the  spiritual  cliaracter  of  tlie  Scottish 
Church  was,  in  England,  always  respected,  its 
Episcopacy  being  direct  from  their  own  non- 
juring  bishops,  at  the  Revolution  of  1688,  its 
temporal  condition  was  altogether  the  reverse, 
being  one  of  poverty,  secrecy,  and  persecution. 
On  this  subject,  the  late  Bisliop  Kenvp,  of  Mary- 
land, a  convert  to  it  in  his  youth,  in  Scotland, 
used  to  relate,  that  when  first  admitted  to  its 
meetings,  he  was  taken  in  and  out  blindfold, 
lest,  peradventure,  he  might  prove  false  and  be- 
tray them.  The  penal  statutes  enacted  against 
them  as  Jacobites,  during  the  earlier  period  of 
the  Hanover  line,  were  severe,  and  even  capital ; 
and  during  the  continuance  of  the  Stuart  race, 
could  never  be  expunged  from  the  Statute  book, 
however  in  practice  mitigated.  But,  within 
three  years  after  the  kindness  shown  by  them 
to  our  destitute  Church,  their  own  affairs  came 
to  a  crisis. 

On  31st  January,  1788,  died  at  Rome,  the 
Comit  of  Albany,  eldest  grandson  of  James  II., 
of  England,  and  sole  remaining  heir  of  the  un- 
fortunate House  of  Stuart,  to  whom  they  con- 
sidered their  allegiance  due.  This  altered  their 
position  in  reference  to  the  English  government, 
and  they  immediately  resolved  no  longer  to 
withhold  their  open  submission  from  the  reign- 
ing family,  but  by  public  prayers  put  up  for 


270  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

tliem,  to  relieve  themselves,  from  the  argument 
at  least,  of  the  penal  statutes,  which,  for  a 
century,  had  been  hanging  over  their  heads. 
Upon  this  occasion  they  deputed,  also,  three  of 
their  number  to  communicate  with  the  govern- 
ment in  London,  of  whom  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  J.  Skinner  was  one.  The  greatest  diffi- 
culty they  there  found,  lay  in  obtaining  the 
recognition  of  their  Episcopal  character  from 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  (Thurlow,)  whose  appro- 
bation was  essential,  and  who  on  this  occasion 
exhibited,  not  only  his  usual  dogmatism  and 
intolerance,  but  more  than  his  usual  ignorance 
of  subjects  out  of  his  profession,  maintaining 
that  there  could  be  *  no  bishops  without  the 
King's  authority.'  It  required,  in  fact,  three 
years'  solicitation,  or  explanation,  to  lead  him  to 
the  perception  or  acknowledgment  of  the  evident 
distinction  between  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
character  combined  in  that  office.  At  length, 
however,  in  1791,  the  Bill  was  passed  for  their 
relief,  and,  after  a  time,  a  '  Regium  donum ' 
granted,  to  aid  in  their  support.* 

It  was  on  occasion  of  this  suit  for  justice,  that 
Bishop  Horsley  passed  the  eulogium  upon  them 
above  given,  to  which  is  worth  adding  Bishop 
Home's  playful  answer,  when  called  upon  by 

•  •  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,'  1788  to  1791. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  371 

their  great  opponent  to  say  whether  there  were 
good  bishops  in  Scotland  :  —  '  Good  bishops, 
did  you  ask  1 '  said  he,  '  Aye,  my  Lord,  much 
better  bishops  than  I  am.' 

We  close  the  accomit  of  this  interesting  por- 
tion of  Christ's  Church,  with  an  extract  from 
a  letter  to  Bishop  Kilgour,  one  of  Dr.  Seabury's 
consecrators,  signed  anonymously,  '  A  dignified 
Clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,'  though 
afterward  ascertained  to  be  the  '  great  and  good 
Dr.  Lowth,'  Bishop  of  London.  The  insertion 
of  it,  though  carrying  the  reader  back  to  an 
earlier  date,  may  serve  to  show  that  the  English 
Church  did  not  take  amiss,  as  many  then  and 
since  have  thought,  that  act,  on  their  part,  of 
Christian  kindness  and  duty  toward  the  Ameri- 
can Church. 

'London,  June  9t?i,  1785. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

The  consecration  of  Dr.  Seabury,  by  the  Scottisli 
bishops,  was  an  event  which  gave  much  pleasure  to 
many  of  the  most  dignified  and  respectable  amongst  the 
English  clergy,  and  to  none  more  than  to  him  who 
now  has  the  honor  to  address  you.  A  man  who  be- 
lieves Episcopacy,  as  I  do,  to  be  a  divine  institution, 
could  not  but  rejoice  to  see  it  derived  through  so  pure 
a  channel  to  the  western  world.'  * 

•  On  this  subject,  see  '  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,'  by  the 
Rev.  John  Skinner,  of  Forfar,  the  correspondent  of  Bishop 
Hobart. 


372  M  E  M  O  I  R     0  F 

The  following  letter  to  the  author  marks  the 
manner  pursued  by  the  Bishop  in  his  shorter 
visitations — making  some  one  or  more  of  the 
younger  clergy  his  travelling  companions  in  it  ; 
thus  attaching  them  to  him  by  bonds  which 
few  or  none  were  afterward  found  willing  to 
sever.  This  privilege  the  author  more  than 
once  enjoyed  ;  on  this  occasion,  however,  cir- 
cumstances prevented  him. 

TO  THE   REV.  J.   McV. 

'  New -York,  May  22,  18 IG. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  trouble  Dr.  Bard  with  some  Uttle  matters  which  the 
present  state  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  induced  me  to 
publish. 

The  question  with  Episcopalians  seems  to  be,  whe- 
ther, in  a  question  of  mere  expediency,  they  shall  fol- 
low the  course  first  adopted  by  their  venerable  Bishop, 
who  now  rests  with  God,  and  since  pursued  by  his 
successor,  and  the  great  body  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  or 
be  induced,  by  adopting  another  course,  to  run  the 
hazard,  at  least,  of  weakening  their  distinctive  spirit 
and  principles,  and  of  the  disgrace  and  injury  of  a 
divided  family. 

The  latter  end  of  July  I  propose  a  visitation  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  toward  Lake  Champlain 
and  Vermont,  when  I  shall  expect  to  be  absent  two 
Sundays.  On  this  journey  I  must  hope  for  the  pleasure 
of  your  company.  I  shall  travel  in  a  light  wagon 
that  will  accommodate  several  persons,  and  in  which 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  O  B  A  R  T.  373 

we  shall  be  guarded  from  inclement  weather.  I  think 
you  will  derive  satisfaction  from  the  journey,  and  I  am 
confident  I  shall  from  your  company. 

With  my  most  affectionate  and  respectful  regards  to 
Mrs.  McV.,  and  your  friends  at  Hyde  Park,  I  am, 
Very  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

FROM  REV.  DR.  ABERCROMBIE. 

♦  Philadelphia,  May  29,  1816. 
Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

I  received,  two  days  ago,  a  packet,  either  imme- 
diately from  you,  or  transmitted,  I  presume,  by  your 
order,  containing  your  Address  at  the  interment  of 
Bishop  Moore,  and  two  on  the  subject  of  your  recently 
established  Bible  Society.  I  have  read  them  with  the 
same  high  degree  of  pleasure  and  improvement  which  I 
have  always  derived  from  your  publications.  I  per- 
fectly coincide  with  you  in  opinion,  with  respect  to  the 
duty  and  expediency  of  our  (Episcopalians)  connecting 
our  Prayer-book  with  the  Bible,  as  its  true  and  proper 
companion  and  expositor. 

Go  on,  my  good  Sir,  in  supporting,  defending,  and 
extending  our  Church.  The  prayers  of  its  orthodox 
members  will  assuredly  ascend  to  heaven  in  your  be- 
half, and  the  blessings  of  its  divine  Head  will  as  cer- 
tainly await  you  both  in  this  world  and  that  which  is 
to  come.  I  most  cordially  thank  you,  my  great  and 
good  friend,  for  your  kind  attention  to  me,  and  am, 
With  the  most  profound  respect. 

And  sincere  aflfection,  yours, 

James  Abercrombie.' 


Kk 


374  M  E  M  O  I  R     0  F 


FROM  J.   B.   W.  ES(A. 

'  Philadelphia^  June  8th,  1816. 
Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

I  received,  a  few  days  since,  through  the  hands  of 
Mrs.  McPherson,  the  little  packet  you  were  good  enough 
to  send  to  me,  and  read  the  pamphlets  which  it  con- 
tained with  that  interest  and  pleasure  which  I  do  every 
thing  from  the  same  pen.  The  argument  in  favor  of 
uniting  the  distribution  "of  the  Prayer-book  with  the 
Bible  I  am  not  able  to  answer,  nor  have  I  met  with  any 
one  who  could  do  it  satisfactorily  to  me. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  limit  the  circulation  of  either, 
and,  if  only  one  could  be  distributed,  no  man  can  hesi- 
tate which  it  should  be ;  but  in  a  given  number  of 
books  distributed  in  a  neighborhood,  especially  in  new 
settlements,  a  few  Bibles,  and  the  rest  Prayer-books, 
would,  probably,  be  more  useful  than  the  whole  num- 
ber being  Bibles.  We  all  know  to  what  extravagances 
the  people  in  most  of  our  new  settlements  are  occasion- 
ally led  by  the  ignorance  and  fanaticism  of  itinerant 
preachers.  With  the  Prayer-book  in  their  hands,  in 
which  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  are  succinctly  and 
clearly  displayed,  and  especially  with  it  to  pray  from, 
there  would  be  no  great  danger  of  their  going  much  out 
of  the  way.  Besides  which,  it  is  the  best  substitute  for 
living  teachers.     Truly,  "  the  Liturgy  preaches." 

Your  dissertation,  by  way  of  appendix  to  the  Address 
at  Bishop  Moore's  funeral,  gave  me  much  satisfaction. 
It  establishes  the  position  it  undertook  to  establish, 
most  clearly.  I  always  knew  it  to  be  a  doctrine  of  our 
Church,  but  never  before  had  it  fully  and  satisfactorily 
explained. 


BISHOP      HOBART.  375 

I  wish  much  to  see  your   sermons  upon    baptism, 
which  you  have  promised  us. 


With  great  esteem  and  affection, 


J.  B.  W.' 


FROM  ARCHDEACON  STRACHAN. 


•  York,  Upper  Canada,  August  10,  1810. 
My  Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

Your  kindness  to  me  last  winter  merited  a  much 
earlier  acknowledgment  than  this,  but  no  good  oppor- 
tunity presented  itself  till  now,  that  Mr.  Hogan  and  his 
son  are  on  their  way  to  New- York. 

Your  appendix  to  your  excellent  address  on  Bishop 
Moore's  death,  is  a  high  treat  to  divines,  and  will  do 
you  great  credit  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  where 
labors  of  this  sort,  especially  when  so  luminous,  are 
fully  appreciated. 

I  was  delighted  with  your  address  in  favor  of  the 
Bible  and  Prayer-book  Society,  and  shall,  in  a  short 
time,  commence  one  here  on  a  similar  plan. 

It  is  matter  of  astonishment  to  me  how  you  can  find 
time  to  write  so  much,  and  yet  discharge  the  various 
and  important  functions  of  your  office.  On  all  sides 
you  are  attacked,  and  on  all  sides  you  triumph  over 
your  adversaries. 

I  have  nothing,  in  return,  to  send  you  for  your  excel- 
lent pamphlets,  except  a  funeral  sermon  and  short 
biographical  notice  of  a  dear  friend,  whose  superior 
powers  are  not  exaggerated.  The  subject  called  for  a 
few  political  remarks,  and  my  concurrence  with  him  in 
opinion  never  prevented  him,  nor  will  it  ever  me,  from 
having  the  greatest  veneration  and  esteem  for  a  very 
large  proportion  of  your  citizens.  The  letter  to  my  pupils 


376  M  E  31  O  I  R     OF 

was  published  some  years  ago  ;  it  does  not  enter  deeply 
into  the  subject,  nor  was  it  intended,  but  I  know  that  it 
has  been  of  some  service. 

I  should  be  sorry  to  pass  from  your  recollection,  and 
shall  sometimes  trouble  you  with  a  letter,  highly  pleased 
if  your  leisure,  now  and  then,  allow  a  reply.  With 
kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  Hobart, 

I  am,  with  great  respect  and  esteem, 

John  Strachan.' 

The  '  Address '  alluded  to  in  the  above  let- 
ters, was  one  delivered  by  Bishop  Hobart  before 
the  '  Auxiliary  New-York  Bible  and  Common 
Prayer-book  Society,'  at  the  time  of  its  organi- 
zation. The  principles  on  which  it  was  consti- 
tuted have  been  already  too  fully  discussed  to 
need  here  any  enlarged  notice  of  the  Address, 
which  yet  deserves  to  be  referred  to  as  an  able 
and  temperate  exposition  of  them.  Its  funda- 
mental proposition  is  the  following  :  That  as 
*  it  is  evident  from  Scripture,  that  the  Revela- 
tions of  God's  will  were  always  made  known, 
not  merely  in  their  abstract  nature  but  as  em- 
bodied in  the  Institutions  of  the  Church,'  so  *by 
extending  in  union  the  Word  and  the  Church 
of  God,  we  are  following  out  tbe  plan  which 
He  has  instituted  for  converting  the  world.' 


Among  his  other  labors  of  the  press  this  year 
(1816)  we  find  a  small  volume,  entitled,  *  The 


BISHOP     HOBART.  377 

Candidate  for  Confirmation  Instructed,'  con- 
sisting of  a  sermon  explaining  the  office  ;  a 
catechism  for  the  use  of  the  candidates ;  and 
an  address  delivered  after  confirmation. 

The  picture  has  been  already  given  of  the 
awakening  power  of  this  rite,  as  performed  by 
Bishop  Hobart.  It  was  such  as  to  revive  the 
idea  of  the  apostolic  age  when  '  Paul  went 
through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  confirming  the 
churches.'  An  extract  from  the  commencement 
of  the  sermon  will  exhibit  the  clearness  and 
simplicity  with  which  he  brought  its  nature,  and 
claims  before  his  hearers. 

'  Confirmation  is  one  of  those  apostolic  rites  which 
the  Church  of  England  retained  when  she  renounced 
the  communion  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 

It  is,  indeed,  the  singular  glory  of  the  Church  from 
which  our  Church  has  descended,  that  she  conducted 
her  reformation  from  papal  corruptions  with  the  high- 
est moderation  and  wisdom.  She  did  not  rashly  de- 
molish the  corrupt  appendages  with  which  the  super- 
stition of  the  dark  ages  had  disfigured  the  spiritual 
edifice ;  but,  with  coolness  and  caution,  yet,  with  zeal 
and  decision,  she  proceeded  to  restore  this  divine  build- 
ing to  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  apostolic  and 
primitive  times.  She  did  not  deem  it  a  sufficient  reason 
for  the  rejection  of  any  rite  or  institution,  that  it  was 
found  in  the  corrupt  Church  from  which  she  had  sepa- 
rated. Amidst  that  violent  zeal  which  the  fervor  of 
reformation  inspires,  and  that  intemperate  heat  which 
opposition  and  persecution  generally  enkindle,  she  pro- 
K  k  2 


378  MEMOIROF 

ceeded  with  deliberation  and  with  seriousness  to  test 
the  Church  of  Rome  by  apostolic  and  primitive  usage. 
Conducting  this  scrutiny  with  intrepidity  and  ardor, 
but  with  prudence  and  caution,  she  rejected  only  those 
rites  and  ceremonies  which  were  not  sanctioned  by 
apostolic  and  primitive  usage;  and  which,  introduced 
in  a  superstitious  and  corrupt  period,  tended  to  disfigure 
and  not  to  adorn  the  Christian  Church  ;  to  corrupt  and 
debase,  not  to  enlighten  and  elevate  Christian  worship ; 
and  to  degrade  and  weaken,  not  to  strengthen  and  exalt 
Christian  piety  and  morals. 

Influenced  by  this  wise  and  temperate  zeal,  she  did 
not  reject  Episcopacy,  because  it  was  a  constituent  of  the 
papal  hierarchy  ;  for  she  knew  that  Episcopacy  was 
revered  as  an  apostolic  institution,  as  the  originally 
constituted  mode  of  perpetuating  the  Christian  ministry, 
long  before  the  establishment  of  the  papal  power.  She 
did  not  discard  a  Liturgy,  because  the  ritual  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  was  disgraced  by  superstitious  and 
idolatrous  ceremonies  ;  for  she  considered  that  forms  of 
prayer,  tending  to  the  solemnity,  the  decency,  and  the 
order  of  public  worship,  were  sanctioned  by  the  usage 
of  apostolic  and  primitive  times.  And,  not  to  multiply 
instances  of  her  wisdom  and  her  moderation,  she  did 
not  deprive  the  members  of  her  fold  of  the  benefit  of  the 
ordinance  of  Confirmation,  because  papal  superstition 
had  defaced  the  simplicity  of  this  rite  ;  for  she  found 
that  in  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the  Church,  the  "  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  "  was  received  as  among  the  "  principles 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,"  the  mean  to  the  devout 
Christian  of  renewed  supplies  of  grace,  and  the  pledge 
of  the  love  and  favor  of  God. 

It  is  my  design,  in  the  ensuing  discourse,  to  explain 
and  inculcate  the  original  of  the  rite  of  Confirmation,  its 


B  I  S  H  O  P     II  O  B  A  R  T.  37D 

design,  the  qualifications  of  those  -who  are  to  receive  it, 
the  authority  of  those  who  administer  it,  its  benefits, 
and  the  obligations  which  it  imposes.'  * 

Among  the  topics  naturally  brought  forth  by 
his  subject  was  one,  oii  which,  as  his  views 
were  oftentimes  misunderstood,  or  misstated,  it 
is  proper  here  somewhat  to  enlarge.  The  doc- 
trine, as  taught  by  him,  of  baptismal  regenera- 
tion, has  been  charged,  by  many,  with  the 
Romish  error  of  substituting  tbe  external  rite 
for  the  inward  spiritual  change  of  heart.  Nathing 
could  be  further  from  the  truth. 

The  whole  question  was  simply  that  of  the  ap- 
plication of  the  term  '  regeneration  ; '  a  question 
which  the  Church  had  already  decided  in  its 
services,  and  that,  too,  upon  Scripture  authority, 
terming  baptism,  as  St.  Paul  terms  it,  *  the  wash- 
ing of  regeneration.'  In  accordance  with  this 
language,  the  Church  in  her  services  terms  those 
'  regenerate,'  who  by  baptism  have  put  on 
Christ  ;  and  calls  upon  those  who  are  thus 
'  regenerated,'  to  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
whereimto  they  are  called,  and  daily  to  be  '  re- 
newed '  in  the  spirit  of  their  minds.  Now,  what 
is  there  in  this  to  be  censined  1  That  baptism 
produces  a  change  in  the  state  or  condition  of 
those  baptized,  is  a  necessary  result  of  its  being 

*  Sermon,  pp.  7-9. 


MEMOIR     OF 


the  seal  of  a  covenant  established  between  God 
and  man.  By  what  term,  then,  is  such  change 
to  be  designated,  if  the  one  employed  in  Scrip- 
ture be  rejected  ?  By  what  term,  looking  to  its 
meaning,  can  such  change  be  more  aptly  signi- 
fied, than  the  one  here  cavilled  at  ]  and  what 
right,  supposing  even  a  willingness  on  his  part, 
to  accommodate  words  to  the  ever-varying  mu- 
tations of  popular  meaning, — what  right  had 
Bishop  Hobart,  or  has  any  other  minister, 
to  falsify  the  services  of  his  own  Church,  by 
putting  a  meaning  upon  words  which  she  does 
not  put  upon  them,  and  thus  introduce  perplex- 
ity, if  not  error,  into  formularies  which  were 
intended  to  guard  her  members  against  both. 
But  to  let  him  speak  for  himself: — 

'  In  the  sacrament  of  baptism  we  are  taken  from  the 
world,  where  we  had  no  title  to  the  favor  of  God,  and 
placed  in  a  state  of  salvation  in  the  Christian  Church  ; 
where,  on  the  conditions  of  true  repentance  and  faith, 
we  enjoy  a  title  to  all  the  blessings  and  privileges  of 
the  Gospel  covenant.  In  this  sense,  as  it  respects  a 
change  of  state,  baptized  persons  are  regenerated ;  ac- 
cording to  the  Apostle,  who  expressly  calls  baptism  the 
''  washing  of  regeneration,"  distinguishing  it  from  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "According  to  his 
mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — Titus  iii.  6. '  * 

♦  Sermon,  p.  3G. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  0  B  AR  T.  381 

Again  : — 

*  But  neither  did  the  Apostles,  nor  does  our  Church, 
consider  baptismal  regeneration  as  availing  to  final 
salvation  without  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Apostles,  in  their  epistles,  consider  Christians  as 
elected  into  a  state  of  salvation,  and  then  exhort  them 
to  "  make  their  calling  and  election  sure."  '  * 

Again  : — 

'This  view  of  baptism,  as  being  the  sacrament  of 
regeneration,  the  instrument  whereby  the  grace  and 
mercy  of  God  are  signed  and  sealed,  so  far  from  "being 
an  encouragement  to  carelessness  and  indifference,  and 
to  a  state  of  sinful  security,  affords  the  most  powerful 
motives  to  repentance  and  holiness.  For  if  Christians 
receive  in  baptism  the  privileges  of  being  "  members  of 
Christ,  children  of  God,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  how  great  must  be  their  guilt  if,  by  a  life  of 
sin,  they  contemn  and  forfeit  these  exalted  privileges? 
If  in  baptism  they  receive  the  succors  of  divine  grace, 
they  are  without  excuse  if  they  do  not  work  out  their 
salvation.  None  of  these  most  powerful  motives  to 
holiness  can  be  urged  when  baptism  is  considered,  not 
as  a  mean  and  pledge  of  divine  grace,  but  merely  as 
"  a  mark  of  difference  between  Christian  men  and 
others.'"  t 

In  this  point,  too,  as  in  many  others  of  those 
disputed  questions  which  were  then  agitated, 
both   within   and    without   the    Church,   it  is 

•  Ibid.  pp.  37,  38.  t  Sermon,  pp.  39,  40. 


MEMOIR     OF 

pleasing  to  find  Christians  now  approaching  to 
a  nearer  agreement  among  themselves,  and 
that  hne  of  agreement  approximating  closer 
to  the  formularies  of  our  Church  than  could 
then  have  been  anticipated.  The  truth  is,  that 
Christians  of  every  name  are  more  inclined 
novv  to  fall  back  upon  the  primitive  institutions 
of  the  Church  than,  perhaps,  they  have  ever 
been  since  those  institutions  were  first  departed 
from  ;  and  to  assign  to  the  sacraments  which 
Christ  established  (when  rightly  received)  a 
spiritual  power  and  efficacy  little  dreamed  of  by 
restless  innovators,  amid  their  endless  varieties 
of  will-worship. 

The  work  which  has  called  forth  these  ob- 
servations, after  passing  through  several  editions, 
has,  at  length,  become  a  permanent  stereotype 
tract  on  the  list  of  the  Tract  Society's  publica- 
tions ;  though  the  Address  delivered  by  him  on 
the  occasion  of  its  administration,  has  been, 
injudiciously,  we  think,  or,  perhaps,  thought- 
lessly, omitted. 

From  the  Convention  Journal  of  this  year 
(1816)  there  is  little  to  tell  that  has  not  been 
already  told,  of  unwearied  labor  and  a  blessed 
result  in  his  Episcopal  duties. 

The  only  novel  point  of  interest  is  a  message  to 
the  Bishop  from  his  red  brethren,  the  Oneidas, 
contained  in  the  report  of  a  missionary  who  had 


BISHOP     HOBART.  383 

visited  them,  thanking  him  for  the  translation 
begun,  into  their  language,  of  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  ;  '  and,  more  especially,'  to 
use  their  own  words,  *  for  his  kindness  in  send- 
ing one  of  their  Indian  brethren  to  instruct  them 
in  the  things  which  concern  their  everlastino- 
peace.' 


3R4  AI  E  -M  O  I  R     OF 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
A.  D.   1817.      jEt.  42. 

Affairs  of  the  College — Dr.  Mason's  Provostship — Causes  of  Failure — 
Abolition  of  the  Office — Presidency  of  Dr.  Harris — Character — 
Bishop  Hobart  and  Dr.  Mason  compared — Traits  of  Character  ex- 
hibited by  Bishop  Hobart  in  the  Board  of  Trustees — Anecdotes  illus- 
trative— Character  as  given  by  the  Rev.  W.  R.  W. — Visitation  of  the 
Diocese — Letter  from  Dr.  Butler — Admiration  of  Nature — Brevity  of 
Visits — Rapidity — Duties  in  the  Diocese  of  New -Jersey  ;  ofConrec- 
necticut — Acknowledgment. 

In  the  year  1817,  the  affairs  of  Columbia 
College  again  called  forth  the  energies  of 
Bishop  Hobart.  The  experiment  against  which 
he  had  protested  six  years  before,  was  now  ap- 
proaching its  unsuccessful  termination.  All 
the  Trustees  felt  that  Dr.  Mason  7nust  retire, 
and  most  were  willing  to  acknowledge  that 
they  had  been  greatly  disappointed  in  him.  It 
was,  however,  a  trying  situation  in  which  he 
had  been  placed.  A  sphere  of  duty  which  he 
had  himself  sought,  and  invested  with  all  the 
powers  he  had  himself  asked,  to  effect  a  refor- 
mation which  he  had  himself  planned. 

To  report  a  failure  of  such  a  man,  under 
such  a  pledge,  is  mortifying  to  the  pride  and 
confidence  of  genius — but  even  so  it  was. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  385 

Amid  all  her  richest  gifts,  nature  had  ienied 
to  the  new  ruler  that  love  of  patient  labor  which 
the  duties  of  his  station  imperatively  required, 
and  habit  had  never  made  good  what  nature, 
in  this  respect,  had  left  deficient  in  his  character. 
Having  always  lived  as  a  free  man,  he  loved 
not  the  drudgery  of  office  ;  the  limitation  of 
prescribed  hours  was  an  annoyance  to  him  ;  the 
detail  of  academic  duty  a  burthen,  and  one, 
after  a  short  time,  so  impatiently  borne,  as  very 
naturally  to  inspire  his  students  with  the  same 
feelings,  and  make  them  hold  light  what  they 
saw  to  be  lightly  valued.  His  heart,  in  short, 
was  not  in  his  v/ork,  to  the  intellectual  laborer 
a  fatal  want,  for  it  is  one  which  no  sleight  can 
cover,  no  talent  counterbalance,  and  which 
shows  itself  more  and  more  as  novelty  wears  off 
from  new  employments,  or  the  flash  of  enthusi- 
asm passes  away,  and  nature  returns  to  its  ordi- 
nary w^ont. 

Thus  was  it  with  Dr.  Mason, — he  entered  upon 
his  academic  duties  with  a  hurried  and  intem- 
perate zeal,  which  soon  ran  into  coolness,  and 
finally  ended  in  neglect. 

Even  in  the  light  of  a  disciplinarian,  where 
his  talents  were  most  counted  upon,  even  here, 
his  mind  was  found  not  to  be  of  the  right  stamp. 
He  mistook  dogmatism  for  decision,  violence  for 

Ll 


386  M  E  M  O  1  R    U  F 

energy,  and  laxity  for  mildness,  forgetting  that 
the  only  successful  discipline  of  youth  results 
from  the  union  of  steadiness  with  gentleness  ; 
'  Non  vi  sed  seepe  cadendo.'  Hence  it  was  that 
his  provostship,  in  this  respect,  disappointed  the 
expectation  both  of  friends  and  foes  : — in  the 
language  of  the  Roman  historian,  'all  would 
have  held  him  worthy  to  reign  had  he  not 
reigned  '  —  '  Omnium  consensu  capax  imperii 
nisi  imperasset.'  * 

It  was  thus,  after  six  years  of  fruitless,  be- 
cause heartless  labor,  on  his  part,  and  of  in- 
creasing dissatisfaction  on  that  of  the  Trustees, 
that  he  sent  in  his  resignation.  This  was 
promptly  accepted  ;  the  temporary  and  ill- 
omened  office  created  for  him  was  abolished  ; 
the  duties  of  his  station  reunited  to  the  presi- 
dency, and  its  already  nominal  incumbent,  Dr. 
Harris,  invested  with  his  rightful  authority. 

Of  the  twelve  years'  charge  of  this  un- 
assuming man,  it  may  be  permitted  to  one  who 
knew  him  well,  to  say  that  his  quiet  unobtrusive 
course  of  silent  usefulness,  followed  the  higher 
pretensions  of  his  predecessor,  like  the  fertilizing 
stream  the  splendid  but  fruitless  torrent. 

But  they  both  have  gone,  and  while  it  be- 
comes not  those  to  scan,  who  have  their  own 

*  Tacitus  in  Galba. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  387 

account  to  render,  yet  may  all,  doubtless,  hence 
learn  a  consolatory  and  awakening  lesson.  Of 
the  good  it  is  permitted  man  to  do  on  earth, 
how  little  depends  on  superior  genius  !  how 
much  upon  patient,  well-directed  industry  ! 
While  we  lament,  therefore,  that  we  possess 
not  the  former,  let  us  beware,  lest  we  waste  in 
idle  lamentation  the  true  talent  we  do  hold,  and 
for  which  we  are  to  render  an  account. 

In  the  prosperity  of  the  college  Bishop  Hobart 
continued,  through  life,  to  take  the  w^armest 
interest,  and  to  exercise  at  its  Board  that 
increasing  influence  w^hich  years  and  experience 
always  give  to  the  truly  sagacious  and  strictly 
honorable  mind.  In  that  respect  his  fate  was 
happier  than  his  with  whom  he  was  so  often 
called  upon  to  contend. 

Dr.  Mason,  at  the  Board,  was  essentially 
a  talking  man  ;  Bishop  Hobart  a  working  man, 
and  it  will  generally  be  found  that  in  all 
collective  or  deliberative  bodies,  the  first  rules 
only  until  the  second  appears  ;  men  listen  to 
the  one  and  follow  the  other  ;  the  moral  energy 
of  action,  in  the  long  run,  rules  men's  minds 
far  beyond  the  intellectual  energy  of  reasoning. 
This  was  the  basis  of  Bishop  Hobart's  influence. 
It  was  not  his  skill  in  debate,  but  the  confidence 
reposed  in  his  practical  wisdom,  in  the  sagacity 


388  MEMOIROF 

of  his  views,  the  decision  of  his  purposes,  and 
the  untiring  fideUty  with  which  he  hibored  in 
whatever  duty  he  undertook. 

Sucli  are  tlie  qualities  to  which  men  ever 
look  up  in  doubt  or  emergency  ;  plain,  sterling, 
working  qualities,  partaking,  moreover,  of  the 
heart  even  more  than  of  the  head.  Without 
these,  *  cleverness  is  a  mischievous  possession, 
wit  but  an  empty  flash,  and  even  wisdom  an 
inoperative  and  useless  dream.' 

How  much  the  qualities  of  heart  added  to 
Bishop  Hobart's  influence  in  that  body,  those 
who  there  knew  him  can  best  tell, — and  even 
those  who  knew  him  any  where,  can  easily 
imagine.  Fairness,  frankness,  and  straight- 
forwardness, always  marked  his  course.  What 
he  thought  honestly,  he  spoke  plainly  —  his 
heart  and  his  tongue  were  companions  that 
travelled  together,  so  that  neither  friend  nor 
opponent  was  ever  left  in  doubt  where  to  find 
him.  Sarcasm  in  debate  he  could  use,  but 
did  most  rarely.  Nothing  seems  ever  to  have 
provoked  him  to  it  but  duplicity  and  meanness. 

Hearing  on  one  occasion,  that  in  a  warm 
debate  in  the  Board,  contrary  to  his  wont,  he 
had  treated  with  scorn  an  opponent,  whose 
attachment  to  the  college  was  even  more  than 
questionable,  the  author  ventured  to  inquire  his 
motive  ; — *  Sir,'  said  he,  '  there  are  some  men 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  389 

whom  it  is  needful  to  let  feel  your  power — and 
he  is  one  of  them.' 

On  all  other  occasions,  the  kindliness  of  his 
nature  shone  forth,  and  saved  the  feelings  of 
his  opponent  amid  all  attacks  upon  his  argu- 
ment. His  zeal,  therefore,  however  highly  ex- 
cited, had  no  rancor  in  it,  his  opposition  no  bit- 
terness ;  few  ever  heard  him  say  a  harsh  word, 
— none  an  unkind  one  ;  and,  whenever  warmth 
of  controversy  struck  forth  a  spark,  or  what  to 
his  sensitive  spirit  appeared  such,  he  seemed  to 
feel  no  peace  in  his  bosom  until  he  had  made 
personal  acknowledgment,  and  solicited  and 
obtained  full  forgiveness. 

One  or  two  instances  of  this,  taken  from  the 
mouth  of  the  narrators,  may,  for  their  truth  and 
very  simplicity,  claim  place  in  such  a  domestic 
narrative  as  this. 

On  one  occasion,  under  the  concurrence  of 
many  exciting  causes,  he  answered  a  friend,  in 
debate,  in  haste  and  heat.  His  friend  was 
silent  from  respect  but  felt  deeply  hurt,  for  it 
was  the  first  time  he  had  heard  such  words 
from  his  lips.  This  friend  had  scarce  reached 
his  home,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Board, 
and  seated  himself  alone  in  his  library,  before 
the  door  opened,  and  Bishop  Hobart  entered 
with  his  quick,  earnest  step  and  manner,  and 
both   hands  extended  toward  his  friend,  while 

L12 


390  MEMOIROF 

he  Uttered,  warmly  and  hurriedly,  these  words  ; 
— «  Forgive  me,  my  dear  friend,  forgive  me  ;  I 
was  wrong — I  was  very  much  to  blame.'  It  is 
needless  to  add  that  friend  was  his  own  for 
ever. 

Another  anecdote,  exhibiting  the  same  trait, 
will  be  best  given  in  the  words  of  the  narrator. 
*  We  had  differed,'  says  his  son-in-law,*  in  a  note 
to  the  author,  '  on  a  question  relating  to  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  and  he,  think- 
ing me  a  little  pertinacious  in  my  course,  gave 
me  what  he  afterward  considered  a  sharp  and 
unauthorized  rebuke.  At  an  early  hour  the 
next  morning  he  called  upon  me,  saying  that  he 
had  passed  a  sleepless  night  in  consequence  of 
what  he  had  said  to  me,  and  could  not  rest  until 
he  had  confessed  that  he  was  wrong.  I  was 
not  more  struck,'  he  adds,  *  with  the  act  of 
conciliation  than  with  the  affectionate  and 
childlike  simplicity  with  which  it  was  done.' 

Among  the  letters,  unfortunately  not  valued 
at  the  time  as  they  now  would  be,  and,  there- 
fore not  preserved,  was  one  of  this  character, 
addressed  to  a  long-tried  friend  in  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  on  a  similar  occasion,  who,  not  only 
feeling,  but  showing  himself  hurt  by  the  Bishop's 
warmth,   received  from  him,  the  next  day,  a 

*  Bishop  Ives, 


BISHOP    HOBART.  391 

letter,  so  full  and  ardent,  that  he  seemed  to 
pour  out  his  very  heart  in  the  expressions  of  his 
affectionate  regret. 

These  instances  illustrate  that  part  of  Bishop 
Hobart's  character  which,  as  already  observed, 
made  all  men  love  him, — an  affectionate  heart 
with  an  almost  childlike  simplicity  of  manner. 
The  influence  this  gave  him  in  private  life 
was  irresistible.  One  instance  fell  within  the 
knowledge  of  the  writer. 

A  Mr.  C,  of  New-York,  who,  without  any 
personal  acquaintance  with  the  Bishop,_  had, 
from  popular  prejudice,  taken  up  a  strong  dislike 
to  him,  incidentally  became  his  travelling  com- 
panion in  one  of  his  visitations  to  the  west. 
Three  da5^3'  stage  intercourse  sufficed,  not  only 
to  soften,  but,  as  it  were,  to  new  stamp  him. 
His  subsequent  language,  to  one  who  presumed 
on  his  former  feelings  of  dislike,  was — '  Sir,  I 
am  ready,  not  only  to  stand  up  for  Bishop  Ho- 
bart,  but  to  fight  for  him.' 

Another  gentleman,  from  the  country,  thus 
accounted  to  the  author  for  his  warm  personal 
attachment.  '  I  had  sent,'  said  he^  '  to  Mr.  Er- 
ben  of  New-York,  for  some  parts  of  our  church 
organ,  which  were  immediately  needed  ;  the 
order  was  long  neglected.  Bishop  Hobart  hear- 
ing of  it,  called  upon  the  builder  ;  "  Why," 
said  he,  "have  you  not  attended  to  the  orders  of 


393  MEMOIROP 

my  friend,  Mr.  B.  ?"  The  answer  was,  that 
Mr.  Erben  did  not  know  him  to  be  the  Bishop's 
friend.  To  this  his  reply  was  ;  "  Yes,  Sir  ;  he 
is  my  friend,  and  in  neglecting  him  you  neglect 
me.'"  The  result  was,  a  speedy  execution  of 
the  order,  and  the  awakening  of  warmer  feelings 
than  a  greater  but  more  ostentatious  service 
would  probably  have  excited. 

It  was  part  of  the  same  nature,  while  it 
thought  little  of  its  own  exertions,  to  over- 
estimate ever}^  mark  of  kindness  received  from 
others.  The  following  instance  might  be  es- 
teemed trifling,  if  any  thing  were  a  trifle  which 
shows  forth  native  goodness. 

The  dispeptic  weakness  of  stomach  under 
which  Bishop  Hobari  labored,  rendered  toasted 
bread  the  only  form  in  which,  at  home,  he  ate 
it.  The  gentleman  above  alluded  to,  having 
heard  of  this  peculiarity,  upon  the  Bishop's  pass- 
ing a  night  with  him  in  the  country,  had  it 
prepared  for  him  in  (he  same  manner  as  at 
home.  The  Bishop,  on  seeing  this  mark  of 
thoughtful ness,  exclaimed  hastily,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes, — '  My  dear  Sir,  how  did  you  know 
this  7 ' 

In  this  union  lay  the  peculiar  force  and 
attractiveness  of  Mr.  Hobart's  character.  It 
was  the  lion  and  the  lamb  dwelling  together  : 
woman's  warmth  and  gentleness — man's  ener- 


BISHOP     HOBART.  393 

getic  will  ;  without  the  latter  he  would  have 
been  the  creature  of  impulse  and  the  slave  of 
his  affections, — without  the  former  he  would 
have  been  the  stern  ruler,  whom  all  would  have 
feared  and  none  loved  :  but  how  beautiful  was 
the  combination  ;  while  his  spirit  was  that  of  the 
war-horse,  that  saith  among  the  trumpets,  '  Ha  ! 
ha  ! '  his  heart  w^as  that  of  the  peaceful  child, 
so  full  of  tender  emotions  that  a  drop  would 
at  any  time  make  it  to  overflow. 

That  this  tenderness  of  heart  should  give 
kindness  to  his  manner,  was  natural,  but  iX  was 
evident  to  all  who  witnessed  it  that  higher 
principles  were  at  work  within  his  bosom, 
giving  a  Christian  character  to  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  the  mere  impulse  of  tem- 
perament. His  kindness  was  therefore  uniform 
and  universal.  But  the  author  would  here  use 
the  language  of  a  friend,  who  has  justly  appre- 
ciated his  character. 

'  He  loved  allmankind,  and,  therefore^  he  was  attentive 
and  kind  to  all.  He  could  not  pass  a  child  without  be- 
stowing upon  it  some  mark  of  winning  condescension. 
To  the  poor  and  the  mean  he  addressed  himself  as  an 
equal  and  a  familiar.  Often  have  I  heard  them  mur- 
mur blessings  as  they  left  him,  extorted  by  his  affable 
and  affectionate  demeanor,  even  when  he  has  denied 
some  request,  which  he  could  not,  or,  because  improper, 
would  not  grant. 


394  MEMOIR     OF 

To  him,  the  stranger,  and  the  desolate,  and  the 
afflicted,  and  the  needy,  those  who  wanted  sustenance, 
£md  those  who  wanted  comfort,  and  those  who  wanted 
the  friendly  hand  or  voice  to  bring  them  into  notice, 
to  him  they  all  directed  their  applications,  and  they 
never  went  in  vain  or  returned  dissatisfied.  His  door 
was  never  barred  against  them,  his  ear  was  ever  open 
to  their  petitions  or  complaints,  and,  if  he  could  not 
relieve,  he  would  at  least  console  and  soothe  by  his  kind 
and  patient  hearing.'* 

The  influence  of  such  manners  and  such 
character  bore  down,  wherever  he  went,  the 
prejudices  of  ignorance  and  misapprehension, 
and  operated,  perhaps,  even  more  powerfully 
than  argument,  within  the  circle  of  personal  in- 
tercourse, to  change  the  feeling  of  men's  minds, 
who  did  not  belong  to  it,  toward  the  Church  ; 
they  connected  it  with  such  pleasing  associations 
of  personal  kindness,  from  one  with  whom  the 
Church  itself  seemed  identified,  that  they  could 
not  but  think  well  of  it  also. 

Yet,  in  all  this  there  was  no  temporizing — no 
accommodation  of  principles,  or  even  of  opinions, 
to  individual  prejudice  or  popular  feeling  :  on 
the  contrar}^,  he  often  seemed  to  risk  that 
friendship  or  popularity  by  the  unyielding  firm- 
ness  with  which  he  rejected  all  compromise, 

•  MSS.  Sermon  of  Rev.  W.  R.  Whittingham,  on  Death 
of  Bishop  Hobart. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  395 

where  he  considered  a  point  of  duty  involved. 
Of  this  one  instance  may  be  taken,  though  oc- 
curring some  years  after. 

On  approaciiing  etroit,  in  the  Territory  of 
Michigan,  whither  he  had  gone  for  the  purpose 
of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  a  church,  to  the 
establishment  of  which,  in  that  distant  region, 
far  be3^ond  the  bounds  of  any  organized  diocese, 
he  had  looked  forward  with  great  anxiety,  he 
was  met,  upon  landing,  by  the  members  of  the 
masonic  lodge,  whiph  comprehended,  at  the 
time,  all  the  influential  men  in  that  -place. 
These  had  come  forth  in  all  their  paraphernalia 
of  splendid  mystery  to  do  honor  to  the  occasion, 
and  now  circled  around  him  to  accompany  him 
in  the  ceremonial. 

The  moment  was  critical,  but  he  hesitated 
not  a  moment, —  '  No,  gentlemen  ! '  said  he, 
addressing  them,  '  this  cannot  be  ;  I  come  here 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  Christian  church,  not 
of  a  Heathen  temple  ;  if  you  accompany  me  at  all 
in  that  ceremony,  it  must  be  as  humble  Chris- 
tians.' They  heard  the  reproof  in  silence — 
retired,  and  returned  divested  of  their  unmean- 
ing finery. 

Such  were  the  honest  acts  by  which  eventual 
popularity  was  gained.  An  intrepidity  of  duty 
that  never  balanced  other  men's  opinions,  and  a 
plainness  and   sincerity  of  speech    that  never 


396  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

allowed  them  to  misunderstand  his  own.  Even 
where  his  opposition  was  firmest  no  man  was 
offended,  for  they  saw  that  it  was  wholly  free 
from  pride,  arrogance,  or  selfishness.  How 
great  became  this  personal  influence,  in  spite 
of  the  unpopularity  of  what  was  termed  his 
high-church  policy,  may  be  judged  from  it  being 
often  jocularly  said  in  a  contested  election,  about 
this  time,  for  governor  of  the  State,  that '  Bishop 
Hobart  was  the  only  candidate  who  would  carry 
the  vote  of  both  parties.' 

The  only  kind  of  men  with  whom  Bishop 
Hobart  found  it  hard  to  get  along,  were  the 
timid  and  the  vacillating,  men  'blighted'  with 
over-much  prudence — doubting  and  hesitating 
when  great  questions  came  before  them  — 
neither  '  hot '  nor  '  cold '  when  principles  were 
attacked,  and,  on  all  occasions  of  hazard,  wrap- 
ping themselves  up  in  a  guarded,  politic  silence. 
So  foreign  was  all  this  from  his  own  nature,  that 
with  such  persons  he  had  no  sympathy,  and, 
sometimes,  but  little  patience.  In  speaking 
confidentially  of  such,  he  would  say  that  he 
knew  them  not,  and  could  trust  them  not ;  that 
he  felt  his  heart  chilled  and  repelled  in  ap- 
proaching them  ;  that  they  were  as  men  in  the 
dark,  and  his  feeling,  always,  was  that  of 
Socrates  of  old,  toward  one  of  his  disciples, 
— *  Speak,  that  I  may  see  you.'    On  the  subject 


BISHOPHOBART.  397 

of  the  Church,  the  language  of  Coleridge  was 
often  his ;  *  Give  me  a  little  zealous  impru- 
dence.' Want  of  decision  was  with  him,  there- 
fore, a  fault  of  character,  that  nothing  could 
atone  for.  Of  one,  with  whom  he  was  for  a 
time  associated  in  a  public  body,  he  once  said 
to  the  writer,  '  Sir,  he  is  not  worth  a  rush  ;  in 
a  moment  of  emergency  I  can  have  no  depend- 
ance  upon  him.  He  hesitates  as  to  his  vote  till 
the  instant  of  putting  it  into  the  ballot-box,  and 
would  pull  it  out  the  next  moment — if  he  cauld.' 
Among  the  intellectual  traits  of  Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  character,  none  was  more  striking  than 
decision  founded  upon  foresight ;  whatever  came 
before  him  of  novelty,  either  in  opinions  or  prac- 
tice, his  mind  seemed  to  spring  at  once  to  the 
eventual  results,  and  that  with  a  sagacity  and 
conclusiveness  that  looked  more  like  instinct 
than  reasoning.  Immediate  consequences  were 
to  him  as  nothing :  hence  his  frequent  opposi- 
tion to  schemes  which,  to  men  less  far-sighted 
than  himself,  seemed  productive  of  nothing  but 
good  ;  and,  hence,  too,  the  outcry  against  him 
then,  and  his  rising  reputation  now.  It  is  tlie 
triumph  of  the  policy  of  principle  over  the  policy 
of  expediency.  This  he  ever  urged  upon  the 
young  as  the  true  basis  of  the  ministerial  char- 
acter. To  one  who  (if  a  friend  may  judge)  is 
now  treading  in   his  footsteps,  he  used  to  say, 

XL^  M  m 


398  MEMOlROr 

*  My  young  friend,  take  little  thought  about 
present  consequences ;  set  yourself  upon  prin- 
ciple, and  trust  God  with  the  result.' 

With  regard  to  the  students  in  the  Seminary, 
as  Bishop  Hobart  loved,  so,  also,  he  watched 
over  them  with  the  eye  of  a  father.  The  lan- 
guage to  the  author  of  the  one  above  alluded 
to  was  thus :  *  Though  he  spoke  to  me  but 
seldom,  I  yet  felt  that  his  eye  was  ever  upon 
me.  I  loved  him,  too,  as  my  own  father,  and 
felt  that  he  governed  me  as  if  by  some  irresistible 
power.' 

Among  the  practical  talents  peculiar  to  the 
necessities  of  his  station,  was  one  without 
which  no  man  can  rule  well.  He  judged 
sagaciously  and  promptly,  what  each  one 
was  best  fitted  for,  and,  according  as  he  had 
the  power,  placed  him  in  it.  With  some  he 
counselled — others  he  directed — to  the  zeal- 
ous he  opened  a  field  for  exertion,  and  to  the 
methodical  he  gave  business.  To  the  same 
young  friend,  who,  on  quitting  the  seminary, 
had  accepted,  while  deacon,  a  call  to  a  neigh- 
boring diocese,  he  said,  '  No,  Sir ;  you  are  given 
to  books ;  the  Church  needs  your  services  in 
that  capacity,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  remain  and 
give  it.'  The  columns  of  '  The  Churchman,' 
the  *  Standard  Works '  of  the  Press,  and  the 
various  early  publications  of  the  '  Sunday  School 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  399 

Union,'  bear  ample  witness  how  well  this  confi- 
dence was  both  merited  and  repaid. 


But  we  have  yet  to  give  the  picture  of  Bishop 
Hobart  on  his  visitations,  and  here  it  were  a 
pity  to  spoil  the  true-hearted  language  of  the 
following  letter,  by  using  it,  as  at  first  intended 
by  the  author,  merely  as  authority.  It  is  from 
an  aged  clergyman  of  the  Diocese,  one  of  the 
few  w4io  survives^  as  he  preceded,  him  of  whom 
he  thus  affectionately  speaks. 

FROM   REV.  DR.  BUTLER. 

'  Troy,  October  20th,  1834. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

I  received  your  request  by  Mr.  Peck,  respecting  our 
late  revered  Bishop,  and  rejoice  to  find  that  you  are 
about  writing  his  life.  I  can  say  no  more  of  him  than 
is  generally  known.  He  frequently  visited  ray  cure, 
and  from  his  kind  afiability  with  the  members  of  it, 
and  his  eloquent  and  orthodox  preaching  was  regarded 
by  them  all  with  filial  affection,  the  sincerity  of  which 
they  clearly  evinced  by  their  expressions  of  grief  at  his 
death.  As  it  is  his  personal  character  and  social  quali- 
ties that  you  propose  to  illustrate,  perhaps  his  inter- 
course, when  journeying  with  me,  may  be  of  some  little 
advantage  in  this  development.  He  was  always  cheer- 
ful, interesting,  and  instructive,  as  we  journeyed  on ; 
and  though  he  frequently  spake  confidentially,  as  became 
a  friend,  yet  always,  even  in  relation  to  what  he  did 
not  approve,  expressed  himself  in  a  manner  that  dis- 
covered the  benevolence  of  his  heart.     When  rallying- 


100  MEMOIROF 

me  a  little  for  my  solicitude  about  my  family,  he  said 
he  always  dismissed  every  thing  of  that  nature  upon 
leaving  home,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  doing  his 
duty  on  his  visitation. 

He  had  a  great  relish  for  the  beauties  of  nature ; 
they  struck  him  with  all  their  charms,  and  he  would 
frequently  stop  our  drive  to  view  a  pleasant  landscape, 
and,  on  such  occasions,  appeared  enraptured  with  de- 
light. He  always  excited  the  attention  of  all  around 
us,  wherever  we  stopped,  and  kindly  endeavored  to  en- 
lighten those  we  met  with,  in  the  most  decorous  man- 
ner, into  the  true  nature  of  Christianity.  He  had  the 
peculiar  faculty  of  blending  affabili  ty  with  dignity.  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  noticing  this  in  an  instance  that  gave 
me  considerable  pleasure.  We  once  called  upon  a  plain 
farmer,  the  friend  of  my  father  and  myself,  and  at  first 
observed  the  old  gentleman,  who  was  a  Presbyterian, 
discovered  a  good  deal  of  timid  emotion  upon  the  view 
of  the  Bishop,  but  he  soon  appeared  at  his  ease,  and 
conversed  familiarly  with  him.  A  few  weeks  after, 
meeting  with  this  farmer,  he  said  to  me,  "  I  at  first  felt 
a  little  afraid  of  your  Bishop,  that  you  brought  to  our 
house,  but  I  soon  got  over  it,  for  he  is  the  cleverest  man 
I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  He  is  no  more  of  a  gentleman 
than  I  am."  This  discovers  his  tact  in  conciliating  un- 
cultivated minds ;  and  we  know  that  every  one,  well- 
informed,  esteemed  him  for  his  intelligence  and  intel- 
lectual attainments,  and  loved  him  for  the  qualities 
of  his  heart. 

There  is  one  instance  of  the  exercise  of  the  tender- 
ness of  his  heart,  that  may  perhaps  show  it  to  better 
advantage,  than  as  if  prompted  by  the  instinctive  feel- 
ings of  family,  or  natural  relation.  The  elder  Mr. 
Swords  informed  me,  that  some  years  since,  he  men- 


BISHOPHOBART.  401 

tioned  to  him  that  he  had  just  heard  that  I  was  dead  ; 
upon  which,  he  said,  the  Bishop  went  out  of  his  hack- 
door,  and  wept  like  a  child.  I  tell  this,  not  because  it 
relates  to  me,  for  I  wish  not  lo  be  known  in  it,  but  to 
show  the  extent  of  his  benevolence,  and  the  kind  affec- 
tions of  his  mind. 

If  you  can  glean  any  thing  out  of  this  communication 
advantageous  to  the  character  of  our  late  beloved  Dio- 
cesan, I  shall  be  glad,  for  I  shall  for  ever  cherish  his 
memory  with  the  profoundest  veneration,  and  the  ten- 
derest  recollections. 

I  am.  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 
With  great  esteem,  and  sincere  regard, 
Your  friend  and  brother, 

David  Butler.' 

It  may  be  permitted  to  one  who  has  also  wit- 
nessed such  scenes,  to  add  his  mite  of  praise. 

It  was  a  still  higher  privilege  for  the  younger 
clergy  to  travel  with  their  Bishop.  He  was  a 
companion  with  whom  there  was  no  tediousness. 
His  simplicity  and  kindness  of  manner  banished 
at  once  all  formality  ;  his  own  candor  and  warm- 
heartedness drew  forth  the  inward  character 
of  his  younger  fellow-travellers,  and,  while 
his  wisdom  instructed  them,  his  friendship 
warned,  and  his  example  led  them  to  all  that 
was  not  only  good  and  excellent,  but  kind, 
affectionate,  and  cheerful. 

That  admiration  of  nature,  alluded  to  in  the 
letter  above  given,  the  author  had  often  occa- 

Mm2 


402  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

sion  to  notice,  as  the  Bishop  gazed  out  over  the 
splendid  scenery  of  the  Hudson,  from  his  cot- 
tage at  Hyde  Park.  Nor  was  it  mere  admira- 
tion ;  there  was  piety  mingled  in  it.  He 
felt  and  spoke  as  if  God  was  to  be  worshipped 
in  the  works  of  nature  as  well  as  in  those  of 
grace ;  in  the  great  and  beauteous  temple, 
which  himself  had  built,   as  well  as  in  those 

*  made  with  hands.'  It  was  an  admiration,  too, 
unmingled  with  envy. 

'  His  were  the  mountains,  and  the  valleys  his, 
And  the  resplendent  rivers  his  t'  enjoy, 
With  a  propriety  that  none  can  feel, 
But  who,  with  filial  confidence  inspired, 
Can  lift  to  heaven  an  unpresumptuous  eye, 
And  smiling  say,  "  My  Father  made  them  all.''  ' 

'  There  never  yet  lived,'  says  Bishop  Jebb, 

*  a  good  and  happy  man  who  did  not  communi- 
cate from  the  overflowing  of  his  goodness  and 
happiness.'  Of  few  men  was  this  ever  more 
true  than  of  Bishop  Hobart,  and  under  few  cir- 
cumstances was  it  more  strongly  felt  than  amid 
the  happy  associations  of  professional  duty  and 
rural  scenes. 

To  the  more  retired  country  churches  Bishop 
Hobart's  visitation  was  as  a  jubilee  —  a  day 
looked  forward  to  with  anxiety,  and  hailed  with 
joy.  When  he  came,  young  and  old  crowded 
around  him  with  greeting.     Parents  contending 


BISHOPHOBART.  403 

for  the  honor  of  entertaining  him — children  for 
some  mark  of  recognition,  which  latter  he  sel- 
dom failed  to  give,  accompanied  by  some  kind 
words  of  remembrance,  or,  if  very  young,  some 
action  of  tenderness  that  long  dwelt  upon  their 
memory. 

The  enthusiasm  felt  among  his  own  people 
seldom  failed  to  spread  through  the  village  or 
neighborhood  to  those  without,  so  that  stran- 
gers, and  dissenters  from  the  Church,  often  out- 
numbered, on  such  occasions,  his  own  flock. 
In  the  religious  services  which  they  assembled 
to  witness,  his  earnest  manner,  his  deep  tones,  his 
impassioned  language,  and  his  fervent  Christian 
exhortations,  left  none  uninfluenced,  so  that 
even  those  who  were  ready  to  condemn  the 
bishop,  yet  were  equally  free  to  admit  that  they 
loved  the  man,  and  reverenced  the  preacher;  and 
while,  perhaps,  they  termed  all  set  prayer  cold 
and  formal,  yet,  from  that  moment  were  found 
willing  to  admit,  as  an  exception,  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  as  heard  from  the  lips  of  Bishop 
Hobart. 

On  the  warm  heart  of  youth  this  influence 
was  peculiarly  felt,  and  above  all,  as  already 
stated,  in  the  services  of  Confirmation  ;  the 
eminently  impressive  manner  in  which  that  rite 
was  performed  by  him,  together  with  the 
earnest  and   tender   appeal   that    followed    it^ 


404  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

made  the  *  imposition  of  his  hands '  to  be  es- 
teemed no  barren  ceremony,  even  by  those  who 
thought  Hghtly  of  '  a  bishop's  blessing.' 

The  brevity  imposed  on  these  rural  visits,  by 
the  extent  and  variety  of  his  labors,  was,  cer- 
tainly, no  small  drawback  to  their  permanent 
influence,  but  still  it  was  a  necessary  one.  It 
was  with  the  Church  as  with  the  luxuriant 
country  over  the  face  of  which  it  was  scattered  ; 
the  harvest  to  be  reaped  was  more  plenteous 
than  the  laborers  to  reap  it,  and,  in  the  hasty 
ingathering  of  sheaves,  much  was  necessarily 
lost  that  a  more  careful  husbandry  might  have 
saved  :  but  still,  in  countries  like  ours,  such  loss 
must  be  for  a  time  borne,  whether  in  the  moral 
or  the  natural  field  ;  and  it  is  the  only  consolation 
to  those  who,  when  called  to  labor  in  it,  see  how 
much  is  left  undone  that  might  be  done,  to 
remember  that,  for  losses  thus  accruing,  they 
will  not  be  held  responsible.  While,  therefore, 
Bishop  Hobart's  own  feelings  led  him  to  desire 
more  time  for  these  visitations,  and  the  present 
duty  seemed  likewise  to  demand  it,  he  yet  felt 
himself  continually  debarred  from  the  good  he 
eaw  before  him,  by  new,  and  still  more  pressing 
calls. 

The  rapidity  and  extent  of  these  journey- 
ings,  seemed  to  give  him  a  kind  of  ubiquity. 
*  I  meet  him  every  where,'  said  a  distinguished 


B  I  S  II  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  405 

judge  of  our  Circuit  Courts,  '  and  every  where 
he  is  followed,  loved,  and  admired.' 

A  country  innkeeper  gave  his  notion  of 
speed  in  less  polished  terms.  On  a  gentleman 
inquiring  at  his  house  for  Bishop  Hobart,  a  day 
after  he  had  quitted  it,  and  proposing  to  follow 
him,  the  observation  was, — *  You  may  as  well 
let  that  alone,  for  when  the  Bishop  travels,  it  is, 
as  the  old  proverb  says,  "  The  devil  catch  the 
hindmost.'"  When  we  learn  that  he  often  had 
to  travel,  in  these  yearly  visitations,  to  the  extent 
of  four  and  even  five  thousand  miles,  and  that 
within  the  compass  of  a  few  months,  we  cease 
to  wonder  at  any  thing  in  them  but  his  exer- 
tion and  power  of  endurance. 

Year  by  year,  too,  he  found  these  demands 
enlarging.  Not  only  did  labor  beget  labor,  and 
the  preaching  of  one  year  build  up  churches 
for  the  next,  but  the  wants  of  neighboring  dio- 
ceses, and  the  opening  calls  of  the  destitute 
unorganized  West,  were  continually  adding  to 
him  duties  not  his  own. 

Until  the  year  1815,  New- Jersey  was  without 
an  ecclesiastical  head,  and  the  Diocese  of  Con- 
necticut was  destitute  of  one  from  1816  to 
1819.* 


♦  Between  the  death  of  Bishop  Jarvis  and  the  election  of 
Dr.  Brownell. 


406  MEMOIROF 

That  the  temporary  care  of  this  latter  Diocese 
was  no  nominal  charge,  may  be  judged  from 
the  details  of  his  first  visitation  in  it.  Thirteen 
congregations  visited  ;  two  ordinations  held  ; 
two  churches  consecrated,  and  eleven  hundred 
and  fifty-three  persons  confirmed  ;  this  was  the 
duty  performed  ;  while,  that  he  had  little  time 
to  spare  for  such  labor  may  also  be  concluded, 
from  the  fact  of  his  doing  all  this  within  the 
short  space  of  twenty  days. 

The  record  of  the  following  year  was  of  the 
same  character.  He  was  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Diocese  of  Connecticut  from  August  6th  to 
September  4th  —  twenty-eight  days  ;  during 
which,  he  preached  thirty-five  times  ;  held  one 
ordination  ;  two  consecrations  ;  and  confirmed 
twelve  hundred  and  seventy-five  persons. 


B  I  S  H  0  P    H  0  B  A  R  T.  40"; 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
A.  D.  \^Y\—Mt.  42. 

Second  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  '  The  Corruptions  of  the  Church  of 
Rome'  —  Death  of  Dr.  Bowden  —  Character  —  Death  of  Bishop 
Dehon — Character — State  of  the  College — Letter  from  Rufus  King — 
Anonymous  Note — Letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Romeyn — Letters  from  and  to 
Dr.  Smith ;  to  Dr.  Berrian — Painful  Letters  from  an  old  Friend — 
Letter  from  Dr.  Strachan,  Norris,  &c. — Theological  Seminary — En- 
dowment— Address  before  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society — 
Interest  in  Sunday  schools — Addi-ess. 

At  the  opening-  of  the  Convention  this  year, 
(1817)  Bishop  Hobart  dehveied  a  second 
*  Charge '  to  his  clergy,  bearing  the  title,  when 
printed,  of  '  The  Corruptions  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  contrasted  with  certain  Protestant  Er- 
rors.' This  production  is,  unquestionably, 
among  the  finest  displays  of  liortatory  elo- 
quence we  find  among  his  writings.  Nor  only 
so :  it  bears,  also,  the  marks  of  that  sagacity 
which  distinguished  his  mind  in  looking  into 
the  future  ;  and  which  bodied  forthcoming  evils 
in  the  spirit,  not  of  fear,  but  of  wise  precaution. 
But  it  bears,  also,  his  stamp  in  another  point — 
the  well-balanced  mind,  that  was  not  to  be 
forced  from  its  centre  by  the  outcries  of  the 
multitude.     The  cry  of  *  Popery  '  and  '  Roman- 


408  M  E  M  O  I  R    O  F 

ism,'  on  the  one  hand,  could  not  drive  him  into 
countenancing  fanaticism  ;  nor  could  his  fear 
of  fanaticism,  on  the  other,  blind  him  to  the 
gross  corruptions  and  rising  influence  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  To  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  the  path  of  safety  was  one — strict  adher- 
ence to  its  own  standards  of  faith  and  formu- 
laries of  devotion,  with  an  evangelical  exhibition 
of  both.  That  such  was  its  true  course,  many 
might  have  seen,  but  not  all  were  able  to  main- 
tain. There  is  nothing  harder  to  resist  tlian 
the  contagion  of  sympathy,  and  it  is,  perhaps, 
the  nicest  criterion  of  real  strength  of  character. 
He  who  receives  impressions  may  be  talented, 
but  is  not  great ;  that  title  belongs  to  him  only 
(setting  aside  the  moral  question)  who  gives 
the  impression.  Such,  throughout  his  course, 
was  Bishop  Hobart,  he  took  not  the  color  of 
the  times,  but  on  the  contrary,  men  who  came 
near   him  grew  like  him. 

The  charge  opens  with  the  duty  of  ministers 
of  the  Church  to  question  these  spirits  of  the 
age,  *  to  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  be  of  God.' 

'  But  it  is  a  duty,'  he  adds,  '  far  from  being  inviting. 
Much  more  pleasant  is  it  to  swim  with  than  to  stem 
the  current  ;  to  be  carried  along  by  the  popular  gale, 
than,  with  incessant  and  wearying  exertion,  to  struggle 
against  it ;  to  be  hailed  by  the  applause  of  hosts  in 
whose  ranks,  or  as  whose  leaders,  men  bear  to  a  tri- 


B  I  S  n  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  409 

umph  the  opinions  or  the  measures  of  the  day,  than  to 
meet  their  odium  by  refusing  to  enlist  with  them,  or, 
by  opposition,  somewhat  to  perplex  their  progress,  if 
not  to  diminish  their  success.  And  therefore,  in 
general,  the  method  of  insuring  a  prosperous  issue  to 
any  plan,  and  a  universal  reception  to  any  opinions,  is 
to  make  them  popular ;  for  thus  are  enlisted  in  their 
cause  all  that  is  weak  and  all  that  is  selfish  in  our 
nature.' 

'  But  I  forget,'  he  adds,  '  that  I  am  addressing  those, 
who,  when  at  the  altar  of  their  Lord  and  Master  they 
Avere  invested  with  the  office  of  ministering  in  sacred 
things,  pledged  themselves  over  the  symbols  of  his 
body  and  blood,  to  make  the  unity  and  purity  of  his 
Church,  established  for  the  salvation  of  men,  the  object 
of  their  supreme  and  constant  exertions;  on  that  altar 
sacrificed  all  those  human  regards  that  would  seduce 
or  deter  them  from  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty; 
who  are  supported  by  the  confidence  that  the  Master, 
whose  truth  and  Church  they  are  defending,  will  never 
forsake  them.  Now  comforting  them  with  those  hopes 
which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away,  and 
hereafter,  swallowing  up  the  remembrance  of  past 
afflictions  in  the  rewards  of  immortality.  These,  my 
clerical  brethren,  are  the  consolations  that  fortify,  with 
more  than  human  strength,  the  spirit  of  the  Christian 
minister  against  severer  trials  than  any  to  which,  in 
the  present  day,  he  is  called.  Under  their  influence  the 
rack  lost  its  terrors,  and  the  stake  the  torture  of  its 
flames.' 


The  preceding  extract  was  too  powerful  and 
just  to  be  curtailed  ;  it  may  be  taken  as  a  fair 

N  n 


410  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

sample  of  that  native,  copious,  and  oveiflowing" 
eloquence  which  never  failed  him  in  cases  of 
emergency,  and  oftentimes  carried  away  the 
hearers,  as  by  a  flood.  But  it  is  argumentative, 
as  well  as  hortatory.  After  tracing  the  errors  of 
Romanism  to  their  source,  and  those  of  Protest- 
antism to  the  natural  tendency  of  the  human 
mind  to  rush  into  extremes,  he  thus  argues — If 
the  Bible  cease  not  to  be  the  charter  of  salva- 
tion, by  being  traced  through  the  Roman 
Church  to  the  age  of  inspiration,  how 

'  Does  Episcopacy  lose  its  claims  to  a  divine  origin 
because,  on  its  simple  and   apostolic    foundation   has 
been  reared  the  gorgeous  and  unhallowed  structure  of 
the  Papal  hierarchy  ?     If  one  extreme  approves  its  op- 
posite, if  the  abuse  of  an  institution  renders  necessary 
the    rejection  of  it;    if    usurped   prerogative  justifies 
resistance  to  legitimate  power,  what  is  there  in  religion — 
what  is  there  in  civil  polity — what  is  there  in  the  de- 
partments of  science — what  is  there  in  social  life,  that 
would  remain  sacred  ?     Let  not,  then,  brethren,  your 
attachment  to  the  primitive  institutions  of  your  Church 
be  in  any  degree  shaken  by  the  aspersion  that  they 
symbolize  with  papal  superstitions.    Be  not  intimidated 
from  avoAving  and  defending  the  scriptural  and  primi- 
tive claims  of  Episcopacy  by  the  reproach,  that  you  are 
verging  to  the  Church  of  Rome.     The  reproach  discov- 
ers little  acquaintance  with  genuine  Episcopacy,  and 
little   knowledge  of  papal   claims.     The   Episcopacy, 
which  it  is  the  privilege  of  our  Church  to  enjoy,  was 
the  glory  of  martyrs  and  confessors,   centuries  before 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  411 

papal  domination  established  itself  on  the  depression  of 
Episcopal  prerogatives.'  * 

Amid  these  warring  extremes,  he  thus  gives 
the  eulogium  of  the  Church  : — 

'  Temperate,  judicious,  firm,  unawed  by  papal 
threats,  unmoved  by  the  unjust  reproaches  of  her 
Protestant  kindred,  she  takes  her  stand  where  apos- 
tles and  martyrs  stood  ;  and  in  her  apostolic  Episco- 
pacy, cleared  of  Papal  usurpation,  stands  forth  to 
the  wandering  members  of  the  Christian  family  as 
a  "city  set  on  a  hill,"  where  they  may  find _ repose 
from  the  tumults  of  schism,  and  communion  with  their 
Redeemer  in  those  ministrations  and  ordinances  which 
he  has  established  as  the  channels  of  his  grace  and  the 
pledges  of  his  love.'  t 

The  charge  closes  with  that  solemn  monition 
which  was  never  far  from  his  thoughts,  aud 
often  upon  his  tongue,  but  now  brought  more 
especially  home  to  him  by  the  events  to  which 
he  alludes,  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bowden, 
and  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Dehon. 

'  The  day  of  account  must  come.  We  are,  indeed, 
admonished,'  he  adds,  'how  near  the  close  of  his 
stewardship  may  be  to  each  one  of  us  in  the  recent 
removal  from  our  ranks  of  a  venerable  father,  whose 
Christian  temper  and  guileless  example  secured  our 
affection,  and  to  whose  lessons,  as  a  master  in  Israel, 

*  Page  18.  t  Page  21. 


412  MEMOIR     OF 

explaining,  enforcing,  and  vindicating  the  apostolic 
principles  of  our  Church,  we  are  all  greatly  indebted, 
for  the  confirmation  of  our  attachment  to  them,  and  for 
the  increase  of  our  zeal  in  their  support.  And,  how 
forcibly,  my  brethren,  is  he  who  addresses  you  reminded 
of  the  uncertainty  of  the  event  that  may  close  his 
stewardship,  when  this  day's  solemnity  brings  to  his 
recollection  one  of  the  same  age  with  himself,  and  of 
the  same  grade  in  the  ministry,  with  whom,  harmo- 
nizing in  principle  as  in  affection,  but  as  yesterday,  in 
this  place,  he  "  took  counsel,"  as  to  the  affairs  of  our 
Zion,  but  whom,  from  a  course  of  distinguished  useful- 
ness, it  hath  pleased  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  to  call  to 
his  rest.' 

The  evenls  here  alluded  to  require  a  few 
words  of  explanation. 

The  first  mentioned  refers  to  a  death  deeply 
felt  by  Bishop  Hobart,  in  common  with  all 
friends  of  the  Church,  that  of  the  Rev.  John 
Bowden,  D.  D.,  a  name  that  will  not  soon  be 
forgotten  in  the  Diocese  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  the  communion  which  he  adorned  and 
defended.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
the  sole  remnant  and  representative  of  the 
Church,  in  this  Diocese,  before  the  Revolution, 
and,  exhibited  in  his  manners,  whether  as  the 
son  of  a  British  officer,  or  as  trained  up  under 
a  royal  government,  (so,  at  least,  it  always 
seemed  to  the  writer,)  somewhat  of  that  higher 
tone  of  courtesy,  which,  without  disparagement 


BISHOP     HOBART.  413 

to  our  own  republican  times,  certainly  was  more 
marked  in  those  which  preceded  them.  But  he 
had  less  doubtful  claims  to  our  respect  and  reve- 
rence ;  he  was  a  Christian,  humble  and  sincere  ; 
he  was  a  Churchman,  too,  such  as  all  then  were 
not,  '  one  of  the  old  school,  like  Hooker,  and 
Taylor,  and  Hammond,  men  distinguished  by 
the  union,  in  their  writings,  of  evangelical  truth 
with  apostolic  order,  and,  in  their  lives,  of  fervent 
piety  with  deep  humility.'  Such,  at  least,  was 
the  language  of  affectionate  praise  with  which 
Bishop  Hobart  mourned  over  his  friend  called 
to  his  rest  in  the  summer  of  this  year.*  As 
being  from  the  Bishop's  pen,  and  a  tribute 
justly  due  to  the  ablest  of  his  coadjutors,  the 
following  further  extract  is  given  from  the  obi- 
tuary notice  here  alluded  to. 


'  Simplicity  and  dignity  were  those  traits  of  his 
character  which  distinguished  and  adorned  all  his  de- 
portment and  actions,  and  rendered  impressive  and  in- 
teresting all  his  conduct  as  a  Christian  and  a  man. 
Unaffected  in  his  piety,  sincere  and  disinterested  in  his 
friendships,  amiable  and  benevolent  in  social  inter- 
course, he  was  beloved  and  revered  wherever  he  was 
known.  A  fund  of  useful  and  entertaining  information 
rendered  his  conversation  a  source  of  pleasure  and 
instruction.     In   his  writings,  Dr.  Bowden  has  left  a 


♦July  31,  181' 

Nn2 


414  MEMOIR     OF 

valuable  legacy  to  the  Church ;  and  to  them,  we  trust, 
her  sons  will  often  have  recourse  for  information  as  to 
her  principles,  and  for  the  means  of  defending  them.'  * 

The  death  last  mentioned  is  that  of  the  Right 
Rev.  Theodore  Dehon,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  in  South-Carolina, 
who,  after  attending  the  General  Convention 
which  sat  in  New-York,  a  few  months  before 
the  delivery  of  this  charge,  died  soon  after  his 
return  to  his  Diocese,  in  the  forty-second  year 
of  his  age,  being  the  same  with  that  of  Bishop 
Hobart. 

In  the  death  of  this  eminently  pious  and  ami- 
able prelate,  the  Church  at  large,  much  more 
his  own  Diocese,  met  with  a  heavy  loss.  '  The 
gentle-spirited  Dehon,'  '  the  Bishop  Home  of 
America,' — as  he  has  been  aptly  termed  by  a 
recent  English  reviewer, — is  language  that  suffi- 
ciently speaks  his  merits,  and  gives  the  impres- 
sion of  a  certain  high-toned,  principled,  tender- 
ness of  character,  as  rare  as  it  is  delightful.  To 
American  readers,  it  need  hardly  be  added 
that  such  impression  is  just,  and  will  be 
fully  borne  out  by  the  memoir  of  his  life  from 
the  pen  of  his  friend  and  associate,  f 

*  '  Christian  Journal,'  January,  1818. 

+  '  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Bishop  Dehon,'  by  Rev.  C.  E.  Gads- 
den, D.  p. 


BI  S  HO  P      HOB  ART.  415 

The  affairs  of  the  college  were  still  unsettled 
during  the  greater  part  of  this  year,  (1817,) 
exciting  deep  uneasiness  in  the  mind  of  the 
Bishop  and  of  its  other  soundest  friends.  All 
seemed  afloat  ;  its  charter  was  tampered  with, 
its  very  location  thrown  into  doubt,  and  its  course 
of  studies  and  their  religious  bearing  made 
the  sport  of  many  crude  and  some  interested 
speculations.  Through  these  rocks  and  shal- 
lows the  Bishop  held  his  way,  like  a  wary  pilot, 
firm,  yet  watchful,  and,  aided  by  those  who 
labored  with  him,  anchored  it,  at  last,  ifi  safety. 
The  following  letter,  from  the  Hon.  Rufus 
King,  alludes  to  some  of  these  varying  plans. 

FROM   RUFUS  KING. 

*  Washington,  ist  March,  1811. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  have  duly  received,  and  beg  that  you  will  accept 
my  thanks  for  your  letter  respecting  the  college.  I 
think  that  I  perceive  in  the  proposal  of  the  regents 
much,  very  much,  that  deserves  the  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  Trustees,  though  the  plan  is  by  no  means 
free  from  very  considerable  difficulty  and  objections. 

The  importance  of  a  collegiate  education,  attainable 
within  the  city,  and  by  the  sons  of  the  citizens,  is  almost 
above  all  computation.  If  a  grammar  school  could  be 
sufficiently  endowed  and  established  in  the  city,  (con- 
nected perhaps  with  a  theological  school,)  some  of  the 
considerable  and  strong  objections  to  the  removal  of  the 


416  M  E  M  O  I  R      O  F 

college  would  be  obviated.  I  am  afraid  that  the  union 
of  the  two  schools  would  be  unfavorable  to  their  suc- 
cess. Of  a  theological  seminary  it  becomes  me  to 
speak  with  hesitation,  not  as  regards  its  purpose,  but  as 
respects  the  system  of  instruction  ;  of  a  grammar  school 
I  may  be  allowed  to  express  opinions  with  a  little 
more  confidence. 

Placing  the  value  which  I  do  on  classical  instruction, 
I  should  be  much  disposed  to  apply  the  industry,  learn- 
ing, and  ambition  of  the  teachers  wholly  and  exclusively 
to  this  branch  of  literature. 

These  few  remarks  are  such,  as  in  the  busy  scene  in 
which  I  am  now  engaged,  have  hastily  suggested  them- 
selves to  me.  I  hope  soon  to  be  discharged,  and  shall 
immediately  return  home  ;  when  I  may,  with  more  ad- 
vantage, consider  the  subject.  I  think,  however,  that 
in  consequence  of  a  late  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, that  I  shall  send  in  the  resignation  of  my  seat  as  a 
Trustee.  This  will  neither  diminish  the  interest  which 
I  shall  always  feel  on  the  subject  of  education,  nor  the 
disposition  with  which  I  shall  be  ready  to  confer  with 
you  respecting  it. 

With  the  highest  respect  and  esteem, 
I  remain,  dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

RuFus  King.' 


The  following  draft  of  a  note  is  without  either 
date  or  direction,  so  far,  however,  as  Bishop 
Hobart  is  concerned  it  sufficiently  explains  itself ; 
and,  perhaps,  was  also  among  those  '  honest  arts' 
by  which  he  wielded  influence.     To  whatever 


BISHOP      HOBART.  417 

period  it  relates,  it  is  not  inappropriately  placed 
in  a  year  of  so  much  political  intrigue,  and 
abuse  of  legislative  power,  as  the  year  1817. 

'  I  should  feel  myself  deficient  in  my  duty  as  a  man, 
a  Christiana  and  a  clergyman,  if  I  did  not  express  to  you 
the  feelings  of  high  gratification  with  which,  in  com- 
mon with  many  others,  I  have  viewed  your  fearless 
discharge  of  public  duty,  and  your  more  fearless  resist- 
ance to  the  outrage  by  which  it  was  sought  to  lead  you 
to  the  violation  of  those  laws  of  God,  and  of  your  coun- 
try, which  you  have  so  ably  asserted.  I  know  your 
best  reward  is  in  the  consciousness  of  having  done,  and 
of  doing  your  duty.  And  yet,  I  hope  you  will  pardon 
this  tribute  to  your  public  worth,  from  one  who  has  the 
honor  to  be  known  to  you  only  in  your  public  and  offi- 
cial character. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  respect, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  H.  HoBART.' 

The  man  and  the  conduct  that  could  elicit 
such  praise,  from  such  a  pen,  it  would  be  inter- 
esting to  know  more  of ;  but  among  Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  papers  there  is  nothing  to  throw  light 
upon  it. 

The  following  letters  bear  generally  upon 
matters  already  alluded  to  ;  the  first  is  from 
Bishop  Hobart  to  Dr.  Romeyn  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church. 


418 


MEMOIR     OF 


TO  REV.    DR.   ROMEYN. 


*  New -York,  January  15,  1817. 
Reverend  Sir, 

I  received,  a  few  days  since,  your  letter  of  the  7th 
October,  in  which  I  am  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the 
Constitution  and  Address  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
and  requested  to  "  read  the  said  Constitution  and  Ad- 
dress to  my  congregation,  from  the  pulpit,  and  to  adopt 
such  measures  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  me  for 
securing  a  congregational  collection,  to  aid  the  Society 
in  their  labor  of  love  and  work  of  faith." 

In  my  official  capacity,  I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to 
express  opinions  adverse,  not  to  the  distribution  of  the 
Bible,  but  to  certain  leading  principles  of  such  societies. 
The  circumstance,  which  was  anticipated,  that  these 
opinions  are  not  generally  received,  or  popular,  may  be 
to  me  cause  of  regret,  but  ought  not  to  effect  any  change 
in  sentiments  very  seriously  and  deliberately  formed, 
and  which  subsequent  reflection  and  observation  have 
confirmed  ;  or  induce  me  to  relinquish  a  course  of  offi- 
cial duty  founded  upon  them. 

These  sentiments  have  been  so  repeatedly  avowed 
by  me,  that  I  might  have  reasonably  expected  it  would 
not  have  been  deemed  necessary  to  address  to  me  a 
communication  which  would  compel  me,  either  to 
depart,  as  I  conceive,  from  correct  principle,  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  decline  compliance  with  a  request  from  a 
body  so  respectable,  both  in  their  general  and  individual 
capacity,  as  the  Managers  of  the  American  Bible 
Society. 

Be   so   good  as   to   communicate   to   them  this   my 


BISHOP      K  O  B  AR  T.  419 

answer,  as  the  best  method  of  making  known  to  them 
my  reasons  for  not  complying  with  their  request. 
I  am,  Sec. 

Most  respectfully,  Sec. 

JoHiV  H.  HOBART.' 

The  following  three  letters  recall,  again,  the 
recollection  of  Princeton  and  early  days. 

FROM  RKV.  Da    SMITH. 

'  Princeton,  January  17,  1817. 
Dear  Sir, 

It  should  be  no  subject  of  surprise  that  I  remember 
you  and  other  gentlemen,  who  were  associated  with  you, 
during  your  residence  at  this  place.  It  has  not  been 
my  fortune  to  meet  with  those  who  were  more  amiable ; 
nor  have  others  more  estimable  in  literature  or  relisfion, 
fallen  in  my  way.  Some  of  those,  especially,  by  whom 
I  am  at  present  surrounded,  are  far  from  effacing  the 
agreeable  recollections  of  those  distant  moments.  I  too 
often  see  austerity,  gloom,  and  harsh  suspicion,  where 
candor,  taste,  and  benevolent  sentiments  once  prevailed. 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  acknowledging  the  receipt  of 
your  first  number,  with  which  I  am  w^ell  satisfied ;  and 
of  your  funeral  address  and  appendix.  The  style  of  the 
former  is  chaste  ;  and  the  latter  is  a  proof  of  much  read- 
ing and  reflection.  With  regard  to  the  subject,  I  confess 
I  have  never  entertained  much  solicitude.  Heaven  may 
dispose  of  my  spirit,  divested  of  its  mortal  accompani- 
ment, as  seems  best  to  its  infinite  wisdom.  Your  eluci- 
dations, however,  are  not  destitute  of  great  plausibility. 
Permit  me,  in  return,  to  intrude  upon  your  leisure  by  a 
discourse  upon  the  subject  of  baptism  ;  which,  you  will 


420  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

perceive,  is  marked  by  no  other  distinction  but  differing, 
in  its  general  ideas,  from  the  theories  both  of  your 
Church,  and  of  that  with  which  I  am  connected.  I  do 
not  presume  to  enter  with  zeal  into  its  peculiar  senti- 
ments, but  leave  them  unsupported  by  the  prop  of  great 
authorities,  to  rest  merely  on  their  rational  accommoda- 
tion to  the  general  strain  of  Christian  principles.  I  have 
used  no  pains  to  propagate  them ;  and,  perhaps,  I  am 
nearly  solitary  in  my  mode  of  thinking  as  to  the  nature 
and  design  of  that  ordinance.  In  other  respects,  I  pre- 
sume you  will  find  the  discourse  entirely  correspond  with 
the  principles  of  genuine  piety. 

Dr.  G.  has  entirely  disused  my  lectures  on  the  evi- 
dences of  religion  and  on  moral  philosophy,  on  the  plea 
that  they  were  not  exactly  conformed  to  his  notions  on 
the  subject  of  divine  grace.       ***** 

You  will  say,  perhaps,  that  you  perceive  a  degree  of 
asperity  in  speaking  of  that  man,  which  does  not  be- 
come the  weakness  of  my  situation  ;  unable,  as  I  am,  to 
move  into  the  street  in  this  unfavorable  season.  I  must 
pray  your  excuse  and  the  forgiveness  of  Heaven,  if  I  am 
too  harsh.  If  you  were  on  the  spot,  you  would  probably 
find  some  palliation  in  the  object,  and  the  facts.  But  I 
am  happy  to  cease,  and  pray  you  to  accept  the  sincere 
regards  of,  dear  Sir, 

Your  very  humble  servant, 

Samuel,  S.  Smith.' 

to  rev.  dr.  smith. 

'  New  •  York,  January  24,  1817. 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  you  for  the  gratification 
which  you  have  afforded  me  by  your  letter  of  the  17th 


BI  S  HO  P     HOB  ART.  421 

instant,  and  which  I  received  yesterday.  It  proved  to 
me  that  I  am  still  in  your  recollection,  and  at  a  time, 
too,  when     *     *     *     * 

Believe  me,  venerated  and  dear  Sir,  in  thus  selectmg 
your  former  pupil  to  be  the  depository  of  your  feelings 
on  such  an  occasion,  you  have  conferred  on  him  au 
honor  which  he  cherishes  with  the  most  grateful  sensi- 
bility. Your  portrait  is  true  to  the  life.  Perhaps  you 
wonder  at  my  thus  responding  to  your  estimate  ;  but  I 
knew  him  welL  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1793  when  I 
graduated.  You  had,  permit  me  to  say,  united  toward 
the  students  a  frankness  and  kindness,  with  a  dignity 
and  firmness  which  encouraged  the  timidity  of  modest 
genius,  while  it  repressed  the  presumption  of  self- 
conceit,  and  had  indulged  us  in  a  freedom  of  sen- 
timent which  awakened  and  exercised  our  faculties, 
while,  with  strong,  but  skilful  hand,  you  conducted 
us  to  correct  principles.  Habituated  to  this,  I  ventured 
to  indulge  some  freedom  of  opinion  in  the  presence  of 
Dr. .  I  shall  never  forgei  his  look.  It  pene- 
trated my  soul,  and  I  still  feel  it  there.  It  was  a  look 
in  which  contempt,  and  haughtiness,  and  anger  were  all 
combined.  My  heart  was  young  ;  I  think  it  was  ten- 
der. It  never  encountered  such  a  look,  either  before  or 
since. 

Be  assured,  dear  Sir,  the  obligations  of  that  band  of 
young  men,  with  whom  it  was  my  pride  and  delight  to 
rank  as  a  friend,  toward  you,  their  venerated  preceptor, 
will  never  be  forgotten.  As  to  myself,  amid  the  cares 
of  a  family,  and  the  toils  of  a  sphere  of  public  duty  too 
extended  and  harassing  to  allow  much  time  or  room 
for  the  indulgence  of  feeling,  my  mind  still  often  turns 
to  you  with  veneration,  gratitude,  and  affection ;  and  I 
had  resolved,  long  since,  to  acknowledge  to  the  world 

Oo 


422  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

my  debt  of  obligation  to  you,  in  a  work  which  I  have 
planned,  but  which  my  numerous  active  duties  have  as 
yet  prevented  me  from  completing.  My  tribute  may  be 
a  small  one,  but  it  will  be  sincere.  I  have  published 
several  little  matters,  but  none  of  them  particularly 
worthy  of  your  notice,  and  some  of  them  would,  I  am 
afraid,  lead  you  to  impeach  my  Catholicism.  And  yet, 
High  Churchman  as  I  am,  I  think  I  am  a  stranger  to 
bigotry  of  heart.  I  venture  to  send  you,  however,  a 
small  pamphlet,  and,  to  amuse  you  for  a  few  moments, 
the  first  number  of  a  periodical  work  on  a  cheap  plan, 
an  essential  element,  you  know,  for  usefulness  in  this 
country. 

Believe  me,  most  truly  and  respectfully,  &c. 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 

*  High  Churchman,^  the  Bishop  here  admits 
himself,  '  without  bigotry,'  and  so  he  was.  Yet 
God  be  thanked,  the  days  are  past  when  such 
distinctive  terms  are  needed.  Our  Church  has 
t»  grown  out  of  them,  and  risen  above  them,  and 
wo  betide  that  pen  that  would  again  introduce 
them.  Even  when  most  current,  right  feeling 
revolted  from  them.  The  lamentation  of  the 
poet  has  ever  been  the  language  of  the  Christian. 

'  High  and  Low, 
Watchwords  of  party  on  all  tongues  are  rife, 
As  if  a  Church,  though  sprung  from  heaven,  must  owe 
To  opposite  and  fierce  extremes  her  life  ; 
*         Not  to  the  golden  and  the  quiet  flow 

Of  truths  that  soften  hatred,  temper  strife.' 

But,  to  turn  from  a  subject  that  would  open 
too  wide  a  field  of  reflection. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  ^**' 

The  cheap  periodical  here  referred  to,  was 
the  first  number  of  *  The  Christian  Journal,  and 
Literary  Register,'  a  work  undertaken  by  Bishop 
Hobart,  in  January,  1817,  as  a  substitute  for  the 
*  Churchman's  Magazine,'  whose  fate  has  been 
already  recorded.  That  it  well  deserved  the 
title  he  gives  it,  of  '  cheap,'  may  be  judged  of 
from  its  appearing  in  numbers  of  sixteen  pages 
every  two  weeks,  at  one  dollar  a  year.  That  it 
was  good,  as  well  as  cheap,  may  be  argued  from 
its  editor,  and  the  following  exhibition  of  its 
plan. 

'  It  shall  be  the  object  of  the  Christian  Journal  to 
present  a  summary  of  the  publications  of  the  present 
day,  and  it  shall  be  occasionally  enriched  with  the  sen- 
timents of  those  masters  of  theology  who  were  the  glory 
of  the  days  that  are  past,  and  whose  writings  exhibit 
the  soundest  views  of  Christian  doctrine  and  order,  and 
the  highest  fervor  of  pious  feeling.  Whatever  can 
advance  the  interests  of  religious  truth,  the  purity, 
unity,  and  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  the  faith,  holiness,  and  consolation  of  the  Christian, 
shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  find  a  place  in  this 
Journal.'*  _      ^,^^ 

Of  this  work  he  continued  the  sole  editor,  until 
the  year  1820,  when  he  associated  with  him  the 
present  Right  Rev.  B.  T.  Onderdonk,  then  an 

*  No.  1,  January,  1817. 


424  MEMOIROF 

assistant  minister  of  Trinity  Church  ;  sharing 
with  him  the  labor,  but  retaining  the  responsi- 
bility. This  joint  charge  he  retained  until  his 
departure  for  Europe. 

FROM  REV.  DR.  SMITH. 

'  Princeton,  February  Wth,  1817. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  have  been  thinking  seriously  since  I  received  your 
letter,  of  your  plausible  demonstrations  of  a  secondary 
heaven,  or  the  elysian  fields  of  Christianity.  I  would 
rest  much  on  the  opinion  of  Bishop  Horsley  ;  but  con- 
fess I  am  not  greatly  pleased  with  the  sombre  situation 
of  those  plains  in  the  central  regions  of  the  earth  ;  and 
the  appearance  of  Moses  and  Elias  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  forms  a  small  objection,  in  my  mind,  to 
acquiescing  in  the  ultimate  conclusion.  I  am  still  in- 
clined to  believe,  however,  that  the  pious  mind  cannot 
enjoy  its  complete  felicity  till  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  reunites  the  whole  man.  The  human  soul  appears 
to  be  of  that  order,  that  it  receives  all  its  ideas,  senti- 
ments, and  emotions,  through  the  medium  of  the  body. 
The  unimbodied  mind  may  think  and  enjoy  on  the 
stock  of  ideas  acquired  in  life,  and  disposed  by  the 
fancy  in  beautiful  images.  But  to  derive  information  in 
a  new  state  of  being,  and  to  enjoy  its  peculiar  felicities, 
seems  to  require  our  whole  nature,  endowed  with  pro- 
portionably  new  and  peculiar  powers  of  perception  and 
combination.  But  it  is  in  vain  for  us,  in  this  state,  to 
philosophize  on  a  condition  of  being  of  which  we  have 
no  means  afforded  us  to  judge.  The  inferences  which 
you  and  your  excellent  authors  have  drawn  from  the 


BISHOP     HOBART.  425 

Scriptures,  have  proceeded  as  far,  and  perhaps  as  justly, 
as  they  can  be  pursued.  I  am  pleased  with  your  effort ; 
but  conclude,  as  I  did  before,  that  I  am  daily  striving  to 
bring  my  soul  to  that  perfect  submission  to  the  divine 
will,  which  will  make  me  acquiesce  with  joy  in  what- 
ever the  destination  of  our  heavenly  Father  shall  ap- 
point.    It  will  always  be  benignant. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  be,  with  the 
utmost  cordiality. 

Your  most  obedient,  and  most  humble  servant,      \ 

Sam'l.  S.  Smith.' 

Among  the  painful  occurrences  of  this  sum- 
mer was  the  death  of  one  friend  in  the  ministry, 
and  the  sickness  of  another  both  friend  and 
relative,  forcing  the  invalid  to  quit  family  and 
duties,  in  search  of  health  from  a  voyage  to 
Europe.  The  following  was  addressed  to  him 
by  Bishop  Hobart,  in  answer  to  his  communica- 
tion conveying  the  news  of  both  events. 

TO  REV.   DR.  BERRIAN. 

'  New-London,  August  26,  1817. 
I  received  your  letter,  my  dear  friend,  and  the  infor- 
mation of  Bishop  Dehon's  death,  at  this  place ;  and  they 
occasioned  a  greater  depression  of  spirits  than  I  have 
felt  for  a  long  time.  With  regard  to  yourself,  it  is  some 
consolation  that  you  are  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the 
danger  of  your  situation,  before  it  is  too  late  to  avail 
yourself  of  the  means  of  restoration.  You  have  every 
reason  to  hope  that,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  these 
means  will  be  effectual.     You  should  endeavor  to  keep 

Oo2 


426  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

Up  your  spirits.  There  is  something  inexpressibly  con- 
solatory in  the  assurance  that  God  is  our  Father,  and 
that  he  watches  over  us  with  more  than  a  parent's  love. 
Life  is  short  and  vain  at  best,  but  while  we  have  God 
for  our  friend  and  father,  we  can  rejoice  in  the  midst  of 
all  the  tribulations  of  the  world.  Good  may  come  out 
of  temporary  evil.  Your  health  may  be  restored  com- 
pletely, and  then  your  voyage  may  have  been  a  source 
of  gratification  to  you. 

In  haste. 
Ever  and  most  affectionately  yours, 

John  H.  Hobart.' 

The  letters  which  follow  are  of  a  painfully 
interesting  character, — the  picture  of  an  ardent 
Christian  mind,  struggling  to  free  itself  from  the 
fetters  which  false  honor  had  imposed,  and 
wearied  with  the  turmoils  of  selfish  public  life. 
They  are  inserted  as  they  are  found,  only  without 
name  ;  though,  should  the  writer  be  recognised, 
it  can  but  add  to  his  well  known  public  merits, 
the  more  enduring  praise  that  belongs  to  the 
private  graces  of  the  Christian. 

TO  BISHOP  HOBART. 

Congress  Hall,  January  2,  1818. 
My  dear  Hobart, 

Your  affectionate  letter  would  not  have  remained 
so  long  unanswered,  but  for  the  expectation  which  I 
have  had  of  presenting  to  you,  in  a  better  form  than  by 
letter,  the  defence  of  my  late  conduct  in  the  most  trying 
event  of  my  whole  life. 


B  I  S  HO  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  427 

Believe  me,  my  dear  Hobart,  that  the  excellent 
friends  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  give  me,  contributed 
to  aid  my  feeble  spirit  in  sustaining  this  its  awful 
trial.  Those  accustomed,  as  I  have  been,  to  the  applause 
of  the  world,  and  to  the  aflfectionate  attention  of  nu- 
merous friends  ;  on  whose  ear  the  voice  of  censure  has 
scarcely  ever  come  in  the  lightest  whisper,  to  be  de- 
nounced by  a  man  who  has  filled  the  second  command 
in  our  Virginia  army,  and  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  as  a  hypocrite  and  coward,  without  be- 
ing allowed  to  repel  the  latter  charge,  without  confirm- 
ing the  former,  and  violating  the  most  solemn  vows  to 
God,  and  the  best  dictates  of  my  own  heart ;  to  be  thus 
persecuted,  is  a  trial  which  has  required  all  my  piety  to 
sustain,  without  sinking  beneath  it. 

You,  my  beloved  Hobart,  who  have  your  mind  con- 
stantly fixed  on  objects  of  eternal  value,  never  feel  that 
ennui  which  sometimes  overtakes  me,  because  the 
world,  which  I  endeavor  to  serve,  is  not  lovely  in  my 
view.  I  know  I  am  criminal  in  allowing  these  feelings 
to  enter  into  my  heart.  I  do  labor  to  exclude  them,  and 
I  yet  hope  the  time  may  come  when  I  shall  gain  a  vic- 
tory over  all  my  imperfections  and  errors,  by  the  aid  of 
that  Holy  Spirit,  which  once  rescued  my  soul  from  the 
abyss  of  misery,  and  smoothed,  as  I  then  felt  and  hoped, 
ray  descent  to  that  grave  where  all  our  worldly  cares 
will  soon  be  hushed  to  rest.         Ever  yours, 

#     #     *     * 

TO  BISHOP  HOBART. 

Sunday,  ith  January,  1818. 
This  is  the  sabbath-day,  but  it  is  wet  and  dark,  and, 
after  communing  with  my  God,  I  sit  down  to  converse 
with  my  dear  Hobart.     I  have  been  severely  tried,  my 


428  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

beloved  friend.  It  has  pleased  the  Almighty,  in  the 
order  of  his  providence,  to  exact  from  me  a  proof  of  my 
fidelity  to  his  commands.  The  enclosed  letter  from  me 
to  Mr.  M.,  closed  a  correspondence  which  arose  from 
our  public  controversy,  under  circumstances  which  I  will 
shortly  explain  to  you,  by  forwarding  a  copy  of  my  last 
public  address,  now  in  the  press.  My  beloved  Hobart, 
will  'find,  I  hope,  that  I  have  not  acted  in  a  manner 
inconsistent  with  those  principles  of  religion,  to  the 
truth  of  which  my  understanding  yielded  an  early 
assent,  and  to  the  obligations  of  which  my  heart  and 
my  vows  bind  me  to  submit.  No  part  of  my  conduct 
was  predetermined  without  consulting  my  friends,  and, 
throughout,  I  prayed  to  God  to  direct  my  judgment. 

To  have  treated  my  opponent's  rudeness  with  ex- 
treme'gentleness,  might  have  occasioned  my  firmness 
to  be  questioned,  under  circumstances  which  rendered  it 
extremely  important,  both  to  my  character,  and  to  the 
example  which  I  was  about  to  furnish  to  my  neighbor- 
hood, that  my  conduct  should  not  be  imputed  to  timidity, 
to  the  fear  of  man  rather  than  the  fear  of  God. 

Surely,  a  Christian  is  not  bound  to  feel  less  sensibly 
the  respect  which  is  due  to  the  character  of  a  gentle- 
man, and  he  may  repel,  in  a  tone  of  indignation,  the 
vulo"ar  outrage  on  his  character,  as  he  certainly  may 
an  outrage  on  his  person.  But  I  will  leave  it  to  my 
last  public  appeal  to  make  my  defence,  and,  if  you 
think  me  in  error,  I  wish,  nay  entreat  you,  to  tell  me  so. 

My  time  is  consumed  by  my  public  duties,  a  very 
numerous  correspondence,  and  the  inquietude  of  my 
own  heart.  For  candor  requires  me  to  confess,  that 
my  piety  is  not  capable  of  sustaining  me  against  this 
heavy  affliction,  without  a  sacrifice  of  happiness  which 
I  am   ashamed  to  acknowledge.     Christmas-eve,    and 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  ART.  429 

the  day  on  which  I  renewed  those  solemn  vows  to  God, 
in  compliance  with  which  I  have  sought  to  tear  myself 
from  many  of  the  strongest  affections  of  my  heart,  have 
been  the  most  pleasant  of  the  last  days  and  nights  of 
my  troubled  life-  I  am  here  alone,  yes,  my  beloved 
Hobart,  literally  alone,  except  when  in  communion 
with  God.  I  have  sinned  in  coming  here  ;  for  I  have 
left  a  theatre  of  action  on  which  I  was  of  some  use,  to 
enter  upon  one  where,  in  all  human  probability,  I  shall 
be  of  none.  For  if  my  zeal  could  have  conquered  the 
difficulties  which  political  prejudice  Avould  have  thrown 
in  my  path  of  usefulness,  how  can  I  overcome  those 
moral  prejudices  which  my  late  conduct  will  inspire  ? 

To  God  I  look  for  support  under  this,  tha  severest 
trial  of  my  life.  Adversity  has  come  upon  me  in  the 
hideous  form  [of  dishonor  :  it  has  struck  me  where  I 
was  most  exposed,  for  in  my  lonely  life,  my  mind  had 
looked  abroad  upon  the  world  for  comfort.  It  had 
strayed  from  the  true  source  of  Christian  consolation. 
It  had  wandered  from  God  to_his  creatures.  I  am  justly, 
though  severely  chastised,  I  bow  submissively  to  the 
cross  where  my  Saviour  ignominiously  expired  ;  where 
he  suffered  for  the  sins  of  those  who  scoffed  at  his 
agony.  Blessed  Jesus  !  inspire  thy  poor  follower  with 
the  humility  which  illustrated  thy  life,  thy  sufferings, 
and  thy  death  !  May  he  not  forfeit  his  right  to  love 
and  to  adore  thee,  by  violating  thy  commandments,  and 
repining  at  thy  providence  ! 

If  you  have  leisure,  let  me  hear  from  you,  my  dearest 
Hobart.  I  cannot  meet  you  in  Philadelphia,  as  I 
intended. 


CVro^ 


430  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

TO  BISHOP  HOBART. 

Marj  29,  1818. 
My  dear  Hobart, 

I  have  often  reproached  myself,  since  my  last  letter 
to  you,  for  having  written  any  thing  calculated  to  aug- 
ment the  affliction  which  you  felt  at  the  condition  of 
our  poor  friend  How,  and  I  now  take  up  my  pen  to 
repair  my  error,  by  assuring  you  of  the  restoration  of 
my  peace  of  mind,  with  that  additional  happiness  which 
ever  flows  from  those  miseries  of  life  which  it  pleases 
God  to  sanctify  for  our  more  perfect  conversion  from 
the  world  to  the  only  source  of  unfailing  bliss.     --> 

I  returned,  on  Monday  last,  from  the  Convention  of 
our  Diocese,  which  met,  on  the  preceding  Tuesday,  at 
Winchester,  and  sat  until  the  following  Saturday.  It 
has  greatly  contributed  to  the  restoration  of  my  tran- 
quillity of  mind.  It  gave  me  a  friend,  in  Meade,  and  a 
new  correspondent,  in  Ravenscroft,  who,  though  not  the 
better,  is  the  greater  man  of  the  two.  He  has  great 
originality  of  character,  a  lively  flow  of  animal 
spirits,  much  learning  of  every  kind,  is  a  profound 
theologian,  a  High  Churchman,  and  a  most  eloquent 
preacher.  He  was,  for  many  years,  a  dissipated  com- 
panion of  Giles,  but  always  distinguished  for  an  original 
and  independent  turn  of  mind.  He  would  have  been  a 
Methodist,  probably,  but  he  felt  himself  called  to  preach 
the  Word  of  God,  and,  after  a  diligent  search  of  the 
Scriptures,  repaired  to  our  Church  as  the  only  source  of 
a  legitimate  authority  to  do  so.  His  Methodism  arose 
from  his  religious  feelings,  and  desire  ot*  religious  society. 
His  neighborhood  then  afforded  him  none  within  the 
pale  of  our  Church.  Since  then,  Major  N.,  of  Congress, 
his  brother,  a  dissipated  soldier,  and  very  many  others, 


BISHOP     HOBART.  431 

have  followed  his  example;  are  in  communion  with  our 
Church,  and  are  ornaments  of  it.  Ravenscroft  staid 
in  the  same  house  with  myself,  in  Winchester, 
and  we  became  intimately  acquainted.  You  will  see 
him  in  Philadelphia.  He  is  elected  one  of  our  clerical 
deputies  to  the  General  Convention. 

I  have  said  much  of  you  to  Ravenscroft,  and  wish 
you  to  become  well  acquainted  with  him.  He  has  a 
history  of  all  the  unfounded  prejudices  which  have,  at 
any  time,  existed  against  you,  and,  concurring  in  opinion 
with  you  as  to  the  chief  cause  of  them  all,  he  will  have 
no  difficulty  in  doing  you  justice.  He  has  some  oddities 
in  his  manner  which  to  me  are  amusing.  They  arise 
from  great  ardor  and  an  untamed  simplicity  of  char- 
acter. He  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  perfectly  well-bred 
and  easy  gentleman.  His  fortime  is  large,  and  his  con- 
nections the  most  respectable  in  Virginia.  He  was 
born  on  the  Roanoke,  but  spent  many  years  of  his  early 
life  in  Scotland,  where  his  mother  now  lives,  and  he 
received  the  principal  part  of  his  education. 

I  have  settled  myself  down  in  this  solitude  for  the 
summer,  in  the  hope  of  arranging  my  private  fortune, 
and  restoring  the  energy  of  a  mind  too  long  estranged 
from  regular  habits  of  application  and  study.  I  need 
not  tell  you  how  much  your  letters,  if  you  have  leisure 
to  write,  will  add  to  the  happiness  of  your  affectionate 


The  painful  mystery  of  these  letters  is  proba- 
bly solved  in  the  following  communication  from 
the  pen  of  Bishop  Hobart,  incidentally  lighted 
upon  in  the  columnsof  the  *  Christian  Journal 'for 
May,  1819  ;  though  his  biographer  has  no  fur- 


432  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

(her  authority  for  connecting  them  than  arises 
from  agreement  of  date  and  their  own  internal 
evidence. 

CHRISTIAN    COURAGE. 

'  The  gentleman  of  whom  the  following  instance  of 
true  courage  is  recorded,  has  been  long  known  as  a  dis- 
tinguished statesman,  and  a  leading  member  of  our 
national  legislature. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  1817,  G3neral challenged 

Colonel  to  fight  with  him ;  and  offered  to  resign 

his  commission  that  he  might  be  at  liberty  to  evade  the 
laAvs,  and  have  the  precious  privilege  of  shedding  the 
blood  of  a  fellow-creature.  What  was  the  answer  of 
the  Colonel  ?  Did  he,  with  the  same  barbarous  disposi- 
tion accede  to  the  proposal,  and  hasten  to  select  the 
weapons  of  slaughter  by  which  an  immortal  soul  might 
be  sent,  unprepared,  to  the  tribunal  of  God  ?  No — let 
it  be  known,  and  published  through  the  land,  to  his 
honor,  that,  in  defiance  of  public  opinion,  and  the  op- 
probrium of  being  called  (as  he  was)  coward  and  hypo- 
crite^ he  had  the  courage,  as  well  as  the  principle,  to  fear 
God  rather  than  man.  The  following  is  an  extract 
from  his  answer  to  the  challenge  :  —  "I  proceed  to  tell 
you  that  I  am  restrained  from  accepting  the  alternative 
which  you  propose,  by  a  Power  paramount  to  all  human 
authority.  I  respect  the  public  opinion  too  highly,  per- 
haps ;  but  I  have  now  been,  for  more  than  two  years,  in 
communion  with  the  Church  in  which  I  was  born,  and 
I  cannot  violate'my  solemn  vows  to  God  for  the  applause 
of  the  world.  As  a  man,  I  ought  not  to  accept  your 
challenge  ;  as  a  Christian,  I  cannot." 

Who  will  say  that  Colonel was  deficient  in  that 


I 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  AR  T.  433 

genuine  courage  which  is  not  the  property  of  every  sub- 
altern in  society,  but  which  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
truly  great  and  good  ?  And  we  would  ask  whether  the 
custom  of  duelling  would  not  soon  be  without  an  advo- 
cate in  the  country,  if  men,  possessing  equal  influence 
over  the  public  sentiment,  were,  in  similar  cases,  to 
imitate  his  example.' *  ...*.<•     .^ 

The  following  letter  opened  a  correspondence 
of  friendship  with  one  of  the  most  sound  and 
influential  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, a  friendship  that  was  afterward  strength- 
ened by  personal  intimacy. 

FROM  REV.  H.   H.   NORRIS. 

^Hackney,  April  1,  1818. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

Though  personally  unknown  to  you,  your  name 
has  been  for  many  years  familiar  to  me,  through  the 
intervention  of  Archdeacon  Daubeny,  with  whom  I  am 
intimately  acquainted  ;  and  the  respect  excited  by  his 
report  has  been  most  fully  confirmed  by  an  "  Apology 
for  Apostolic  Order,"  which  I  have  long  considered  as 
the  most  condensed  and  luminous  statement  of  the 
argument,  in  support  of  that  vital  point  of  Christian 
theology  that  has  fallen  under  my  observation.  Under 
the  influence  of  this  feeling,  I  was  anxious  to  convey  a 
pledge  of  it  to  you,  and,  during  the  late  unhappy  differ- 
ences which  interrupted  the  friendly  intercourse  be- 
tween this  country  and  America,  I  availed  myself  of 
the  return  of  Dr.  Inglis  to  Nova  Scotia,  to  intrust  him 
with  a  volume  I  had  recently  published,  and  which  he 

♦  Christian  Journal,  1819,  p.  158. 
Pp 


434  MEMOIR     OF 

felt  confident  he  could  find  the  means  of  conveying 
with  safety  from  Halifax  to  New- York. 

I  hope  you  will  receive  this  little  packet  as  holding  out 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  respectfully  soliciting 
confidential  intercourse,  such  as  should  subsist  at  all 
times  between  the  several  parts  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  which  is  more  than  ever  necessary,  in  my 
apprehension,  at  the  present  time,  when  a  specious  de- 
sign is  most  actively  prosecuting,  of  substituting  the 
unity  of  indifference  for  the  unity  of  faith,  and  incorpo- 
rating the  universe  in  one  community,  in  which,  by  a 
solemn  act  of  compromise,  the  various  imaginations  of 
men,  and  the  truth  of  God,  are  to  be  blended  together, 
and  the  Bible  is  to  be  received  as  the  common  text- 
book, equally  authenticating  them  all.  The  strong 
feeling  of  my  mind  has  long  been,  that  the  Reformed 
Episcopal  Churches  ought  to  unite,  as  the  primitive 
Churches  used  to  do  ;  that  professing  our  belief  in  the 
communion  of  saints,  we  should  act  up  to  the  spirit  of 
that  profession.  Under  this  impression,  I  hailed,  last 
year,  with  a  pleasure  I  cannot  adequately  convey  to  you, 
the  proffered  friendship  and  correspondence  of  the 
South-Carolina  Protestant  Episcopal  Society  for  the 
Advancement  of  Christianity ;  and  I  was  delighted  to  see 
the  interest  Avith  which  the  communication  was  read, 
and  the  eagerness  expressed  to  embrace  the  proposition 
with  cordiality;  and  to  convey,  in  the  most  unqualified 
terms,  the  high  sense  which  our  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge  entertained  of  the  alliance  pro- 
posed; and  the  assurance  that  it  would  at  all  times 
cultivate  the  correspondence  of  its  sister  society  with 
the  utmost  assiduity,  from  a  powerful  conviction  that 
both  societies  would  thus  materially  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  each   other,   and  more  especially  of  that  just 


B  I  S  H  0  P      li  O  B  A  R  T.  ^'^^ 

cause  which,  in  their  respective  spheres  of  action,  they 
were  simultaneously  exerting  themselves  to  promote. 
I  have  had  my  thoughts  bent  on  a  similar  proposal  to 
you  for  several  years  past,  indeed,!  may  say,  I  have  had 
my  pen  in  hand  to  execute  it ;  the  conviction,  however, 
that  I  fill  no  station  sufficiently  ostensible  to  sanction 
the  proceeding,  has  repeatedly  induced  me  to  forego 
my  purpose.  But  I  can  refrain  no  longer;  cur  mutual 
interests  make  it  almost  indispensable  that  this  wail  of 
partition  should  be  broken  down,  that  we  should  take 
sweet  counsel  together,  and  walk  to  the  house  of  God 
as  friends,  as  fellow-members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  as 
fellow-soldiers  enlisted  under  one  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion, and  now,  especially  called  upon  to  contend,  ear- 
nestly and  in  concert,  for  the  common  faith. 

I  am  sure  that,  if  in  the  other  dioceses  of  America, 
there  are  Episcopal  societies  formed  upon  the  model  of 
ours,  that  is,  not  liberalized  according  to  the  distem- 
pered charity  of  the  day,  we  shall  as  heartily  give  them 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship  as  we  have  given  it  to  that 
of  South-Carolina ;  and  I  am  not  without  hopes  that 
some  sort  of  alliance  might  be  effected  with  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  her  missionary 
exertions.  Of  course  we  cannot  look  to  your  unesta- 
blished  Church  for  pecuniary  contributions,  but  must 
rather  prepare  ourselves  for  supplying  your  wants  from 
our  abundance ;  but  you  might  be  able  to  supply  men 
trained  to  endure  the  hardness  which  the  missionary 
should  be  inured  to,  and,  withal,  sound  in  the  faith 
and  economy  of  the  Gospel.  At  all  events,  an  inter- 
change of  sentiments  and  of  information,  upon  the 
religious  phenomena  of  the  day  in  our  respective  com- 
munions, might  be  established,  and  even  this  could  not 
fail  of  being  mutually  beneficial  in  a  high  degree. 


436  MEMOIR     OF 

In  Bishop  Dehon's  communication  there  was  some 
mention  of  a  library  forming  at  Charleston,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  clergy.  If  I  knew  what  books  are  already 
procured,  and  what  were  chiefly  wanting,  I  might  have 
it  in  my  power  to  assist  the  Bishop  in  accomplishing 
his  object  ;  and  I  beg  you  to  assure  him  that  I  should 
have  great  pleasure  in  doing  so.  And,  in  conclusion, 
I  beg  to  assure  yourself  that  I  am,  with  much  respect, 
and  with  every  sentiment  with  which  a  subordinate 
clergymen  should  regard  the  Bishops  of  the  Christian 
Church, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

Henry  Hadley  Norris.' 

The  following  was  through  the  slower  me- 
dium above  referred  to,  and  shows  how  that  in 
little,  as  in  great  things,  it  is  better  to  act  for 
ourselves  than  trust  to  the  agency  of  others. 

FROM  REV.  DR.  INGLIS.* 

*  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  May  18th,  1818. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Norris,  of  Hackney,  near  London, 
supposing  me  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  occasional  inter- 
course with  you,  has  requested  me  to  mention  him  as 
an  introduction  to  some  inquiries  with  which  he  is  de- 
sirous to  be  permitted  to  trouble  you.  And  although  I 
have  never  enjoyed  this  satisfaction,  and  can  scarcely 
be  known  to  you,  unless  merely  by  name,  as  the  son  of 
a  person  formerly  well  known  in  some  of  the  churches 
over  which  you  preside,  I  take  the  liberty  of  complying 

*  Now  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia. 


C  I  S  n  O  P      H  O  B  A  R  T.  437 

with  Mr.  Norris'  request.  He  is  a  clergyman  of  inde- 
pendent fortune ;  which  he  devotes  to  the  service  of 
religion  ;  and  is  one  of  the  most  zealous  defenders  and 
supporters  of  our  national  Church,  He  has  been  made 
more  generally  conspicuous  by  very  bold  attacks  upon 
the  structure  and  tendency  of  the  Bible  Society,  which 
begin  to  excite  much  uneasiness  in  many,  although  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  a  large  number  of  excellent  heads 
are  still  its  supporters  and  advocates. 

In  his  private  circle  of  acquaintance,  Mr.  Norris  is 
known  as  a  pattern  of  all  good  works.  Living  in  a 
very  populous  parish,  whose  means  of  accommodation 
for  its  parishioDers  on  Sunday  are  very  insufficient,  al- 
though its  church  is  of  enormous  size  ;  he  has  built, 
chiefly  at  his  own  expense,  a  beautiful  chapel,  witit 
large  accommodation,  for  the  poor.  He  has  affixed  it 
to  the  church  in  the  most  constitutional  manner;  serves 
it  himself,  with  the  assistance  of  a  curate,  whom  he 
supports  ;  and  has  endowed  it,  that  it  may  never  be  un- 
served. His  whole  time,  and  health,  and  talents,  are 
devoted  to  public  objects  of  the  noblest  kind ;  and  I  la- 
ment to  say  that  he  is  wearing  himself  away  by  hia 
unceasing  labor.  The  present  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  Dr. 
Marsh,  gave  him  the  first  vacant  stall  in  his  cathedral  ; 
which  was  an  honorable  testimony  to  his  character  and 
principles. 

With  humble  prayers  for  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
every  part  of  that  branch  of  the  Christian  Church  which 
has  the  advantage  of  your  watchful  care  and  able  di- 
rection, I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Right  Rev.  Sir, 

Very  respectfully,  your  dutiful  servant, 

John  Inglis.' 


438  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

The  praise  bestowed  by  Mr.  Norris  on  Bishop 
Hobart's  '  Apology  for  Apostolic  order,'  recalls 
the  language  of  another  leading  pen  of  the 
English  Church,  to  the  same  point.  The  Rev. 
Hugh  James  Rose,  in  his  '  Discourses  before  the 
University  of  Cambridge,' — a  volume  that 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  divinity  stu- 
dent,— after  large  quotations  from  the  above 
work,  goes  on  to  add,  '  The  preceding  passage 
from  Bishop  Hobart,  contains  all  that  is  requi- 
site on  this  subject ;  the  latter  part  of  this  work 
contains  by  far  the  best  arguments  for  Episco- 
pacy that  I  know.  The  treatises  of  Hall  and 
Taylor,  full  of  learning,  zeal  and  eloquence  as 
they  undoubtedly  are,  overstate  some  points, 
and  dwell  on  minutiee  of  little  importance  to  the 
argument.  Bifhop  Hobart,  on  the  contrary, 
gets  rid  of  every  thing  not  essential  to  the  ques- 
tion, and  shews  what  pure  and  real  Episcopacy 
is,  free  from  arbitrary  adjuncts,  and  human  in- 
ventions.' * 

If  the  insertion  of  the  following  letter  be  re- 
garded as  wanting  in  due  humilit}^,  the  author 
would  plainly  admit  that  the  praise  recorded, 
however  slight,  is  yet  most  grateful  to  him,  as 
affording   some  relief  to  those  feelings  of  con- 

♦  *  The  Commission  and  consequent  Duties  of  the  Clergy.' 

Cambridge,   1828,  p.  140. 


BISHOPHOBART.  439 

scious  unworthiness  which  attend  the  remem- 
brance of  his  short  and  only  parochial  charge. 

TO  THE    REV.  J.  McV. 

•  New  -  York,  June  1th,  1818. 

My  dear  Sir, 

It  gives  ma  unfeigned  pleasure  to  hear,  in  various 
ways,  of  your  increasing  usefulness.  I  know  no  greater 
source  of  gratification  than  to  view  the  progress  of  real 
piety,  in  connection  with  the  principles,  the  order,  and 
the  worship  of  our  Church ;  and  to  perceive  that  this 
advancement  is  effected  hy  those  sober  but  zealous  pa- 
rochial labors,  which,  in  their  ultimate  success,  far  ex- 
ceed the  more  noisy  but  less  transient  pretences  of  enthu- 
siasm. May  your  example,  my  dear  Sir,  long  afford  this 
gratification.  I  send  you  two  pamphlets,  the  principles 
and  views  of  which  are  the  result  of  much  serious  re- 
flection, and  which  I  hope  will  accord  with  your  judg- 
ment. I  am  extremely  solicitous  that  you  and  your 
friends  at  Hyde  Park  should  unite  with  the  friends  of 
the  Church  at  Pcughkcepsie,  in  establishing  a  Dutchess 
Bible  and  Common  Prayer-book  Society,  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  contemplated  on  Long-Island.  The  Bible 
and  Common  Prayer-book  Society,  in  this  city,  was 
established  before  the  Bible  Society ;  and  it  would  be 
unfortunate  if  the  Church  people  in  this  Diocese  should 
oppose  the  principles  and  views  of  that  institution. 
Union  among  ourselves  is  an  object,  to  effect  which,  each 
one  should  be  prepared  to  make  some  sacrifices  of 
private  opinion. 

Believe  me, 
With  much  regard,  yours,  &c. 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 


no  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

In  no  one  year  of  his  ministerial  life  do  we  find 
so  many  evidences,  as  in  this,  (1817,)  of  Bishop 
Hobart's  individual  and  official  activity.  Among 
other  subjects,  that  of  a  theological  seminary 
was  a  prominent  one,  and  through  the  medium 
of  the  press  generally,  and  more  especially 
through  the  columns  of  the  Christian  Journal,* 
he  sought  to  give  a  right  direction  to  public 
opinion  on  the  question.  An  Episcopal  school, 
or  college,  as  a  nursery  for  candidates,  he  still 
greatly  dwelt  upon,  and,  no  doubt,  wisely;  for  it 
is  in  education,  as  in  all  other  building  up,  the 
foundation  is  still  the  main  point ;  but  in  this 
finding  little  concurrent  opinion,  he  was  forced, 
for  the  time,  to  yield.  The  prospects  of  a 
theological  seminary,  however,  were  more  fair. 
Here  the  Church  found  a  liberal  benefactor, 
in  one  who  has  identified  his  name  with  the 
cause  of  theology,  as  his  father's  already 
w^as  with  that  of  the  Church ;  C.  C.  Moore, 
Esq.,  only  son  of  the  Bishop  of  that  name, 
conveyed  to  trustees  a  very  valuable  portion 
of  his  estate,  being  above  sixty  lots,  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  city  of  New- 
York,  in  trust,  for  the  erection  and  benefit  of 
a  general  theological  seminary.  But,  be- 
tween general  and   diocesan,   was  with  Bishop 

♦  Hints  by  an  Episcopalian,  May  No,,  1817. 


BISHOP     HOBART.  441 

Hobart,  still  a  question.  He  wished  it  to  pos- 
sess the  influence  of  the  one,  and  the  security  of 
the  other  ;  or,  if  both  could  not  be  attained,  was 
willing  rather  to  limit  its  influence,  than  risk  its 
soundness  :  that  is  to  say,  he  would  rather  have 
a  diocesan  school,  under  his  own  eye,  than  a 
general  one,  removed  from  it. 

This  is  an  acknowledgment  which  some 
friends  of  Biishop  Hobart  miglit  be  unwilling  to 
make,  as  being  open  to  the  charge  of  a  selfish  or 
grasping  policy.  His  biographer  fears  not  to 
avow  it,  for  he  thinks  it  liable  to  neither  ;  he 
views  it  merely  as  a  prudent,  perhaps,  at  the  time, 
a  necessary  caution  ;  at  any  rate,  as  policy  hav- 
ing no  individual  reference  either  to  himself  or 
others,  but  arising  solely  from  the  untried  dan- 
gers of  committing  a  power  so  vital  to  the 
Church,  as  the  control  of  the  education  of  its 
candidates,  to  a  body  so  fluctuating  and  irre- 
sponsible as  the  General  Convention,  at  least  in 
its  House  of  Delegates,  and  of  the  operation  of 
which  the  Church  had  not,  at  that  time,  sufii- 
cient  experience  to  justify  so  high  a  trust. 

Among  the  minor  publications  of  this  year, 
(1817,)  we  find  an  address  delivered  before  *the 
Missionary  Society  of  young  men  and  others  in 
the  city  of  New-York.'  This  was  afterward 
published,  and  tended  greatly  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  Society,  in  their  praiseworthy  la- 


44-2  MEMOIR     OF 

bors.  The  address  itself  is  of  rather  local  and 
temporary  interest.  It  contains,  however,  a 
gratifying  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
missions  in  the  Diocese.  But  nothing  from 
Bishop  Hobart's  pen  could  close  without  a 
spirit-stirring  appeal. 

*  An  impetus  is  given  to  the  Christian  world  that  is 
urging  it  forward  to  great  results.  We,  my  brethren, 
should  go,  not  reluctant,  not  backward,  but  foremost  in 
the  march,  with  the  ark  intrusted  to  us,  the  symbol  and 
the  pledge  of  the  Divine  presence,  until  it  rests  encircled 
with  its  primitive  glory,  and  extending  its  lustre 
throughout  the  earth.  Be  foremost  in  this  holy  career  ; 
excite  your  absent  brethren  to  equal  zeal  in  a  cause 
which  has  for  its  object  the  salvation  of  men  ;  a  cause 
for  which  the  Son  of  God  died,  and  for  which  he  still 
intercedes  in  heaven,  and  rules  on  earth.'  * 

The  interest  taken  by  him  in  Sunday  schools 
added  still  further  to  his  parochial  labors.  In 
that  attached  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  in  his 
own  parish,  he  was  frequently  present,  encour- 
aging both  children  and  teachers,  by  his  earnest 
and  affectionate  exhortations.  This  was  as 
their  Rector,  but  as  Bishop,  his  views  went 
further,  and  his  anxiety  was  greater.  For  a 
moment  he  looked  with  a  doubtful  eye  upon 
the  whole  system,  that  is  to  say,  upon  an  oper- 
ation   which    was    converting    every    zealous 

»  Address,  p.  18. 


BISHOP     H  O  B  A  R  T.  443 

young"  member  of  a  congregation  into  a  teacher 
and  expounder  of  the  Christian  faith  ;  while 
leaving  to  chance  or  individual  choice,  the  books 
of  instruction  by  which  themselves  were  to  be 
guided,  and  the  minds  of  the  children  formed. 
This  was  an  unpopular  view  to  take  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  some  said  it  was  part  of  the  Bishop's  na- 
ture to  forecast  evil  in  good  schemes.  But  if  this 
were  so,  they  must  also  admit  it  was  equally 
part  of  his  nature  to  labor  to  secure  the  good 
while  he  guarded  against  the  evil,  and  such  has 
evidently  been  the  case  in  regard  of  Sunday 
schools.  By  uniting  them  as  parts  of  one  com- 
mon society,  in  connection  with  the  authorities 
of  the  Church,  he  added  to  their  eiFiciency 
while  he  guarded  against  abuse  ;  each  rector 
became,  under  his  system,  the  responsil)le  head 
of  his  own  school,  while  the  wisdom  of  all 
united  was  directed  to  the  preparation  or  choice 
of  proper  books  of  instruction,  over  which  he 
again,  as  responsible  head  of  the  Church,  exer- 
cised a  final  supervision.  That  this  was  no 
barren  responsibility,  may  be  judged  from  the 
answer  given  to  the  author,  by  one  who  long 
held  the  situation  of  Sunday  school  agent  : — 
*  While  I,  Sir,  was  there,  not  a  scrap  of  the  pen 
ever  passed  the  press  without  his  approbation  ; 
nor,  I  believe,  while  he  lived.'  Thus  originated 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Sunda}^  School  Union, 


446  JI  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
A.D.  1818— ^i.  43. 

Address  to  Convention — Painful  Duty — Mr.  How — Letter  to  Dr.  Ber^ 
i-ian — Oneida  Indians — Letter  to  the  Bishop — His  Answer — Visits 
them — Interesting  Scene — Aged  Mohawk  Warrior — Young  Onon- 
(laga — Visit  of  the  Autlior — Prosperous  Condition  of  the  Diocese- 
Religious  Revivals  ;  the  Bishop's  Opinion  :  their  Result — Bishop  Ho- 
bart's  Explanation  of  Evangelical  Preaching. 

The  meeting  of  the  Convention  of  1818  was 
to  the  Bishop  a  period  at  once  of  the  highest 
pleasure,  and  the  severest  mortification.  The 
pleasure  arose  from  the  proofs  afforded  of  the 
unprecedented  extension  of  the  Church  during 
the  past  year,  not  only  by  its  parochial  reports 
but  also  by  the  unusually  large  assemblage 
of  delegates  representing  it.  The  latter  circum- 
stance was  so  marked,  that  the  Bishop  opened 
his  address  with  noticing  it  as  '  gratifying  evi- 
dence,' said  he,  *  of  increasing  zeal  for  the 
interests  of  our  Church.' 

The  mortification  arose  from  the  misconduct 
of  one  who,  from  boyhood,  had  been  to  him  as 
a  bosom  friend,  and,  for  several  years  past,  his 
assistant  in  the  Church,  and  coadjutor  in  all 
his  labors  for  its  defence  and  advancement. 
Far  be  it  from  him  who  now  records  his  humili- 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T .  447 

ating  fall  to  dwell  one  moment  beyond  the 
needful  moral,  on  this  sad  tale  of  human  infir- 
mity. From  such  a  height  did  he  fall,  and  so 
low,  that,  when  first  known,  the  instinctive  ex- 
clamation of  eveiy  heart  was, — *  Lord  !  lead 
me  not  into  temptation,  and  take  not  thy  Holy 
Spirit  from  me.' 

If  such  was  the  shock  to  those  who  knew 
him  but  as  a  Christian  minister,  what  must  it 
have  been  to  one  who  loved  him  as  a  brother, 
and  rested  upon  him  as  a  bosom  friend  and  coun- 
sellor. Nor  was  he  called  only  to  mourn  over 
it  in  secret.  As  head  of  the  Church  jt  became 
his  duty  to  publish  it  to  the  world,  and,  not 
only  that,  but  to  inflict,  as  it  were,  with  his 
own  hand,  the  merited  punishment.  To  such 
a  heart  it  was  more  than  a  Roman  trial.  For 
to  one  w^ho  held,  as  he  did,  life  cheap,  when 
compared  with  duty,  it  would  have  been  easier, 
far  easier,  to  have  passed  upon  him  the  sentence 
of  death  than  of  degradation. 

What  he  felt  upon  the  occasion  must  be  con- 
ceived, for  it  was  not  expressed  ;  his  words 
conveying  it  were  few  and  stern  ; — '  It  is  in- 
cumbent upon  me,'  said  he,  *  on  conviction,  to 
inflict  upon  him  th«  sentence  of  degradation 
from  the  ministry,  and  I  shall,  without  delay, 
discharge  my  duty  in  this  business.' 

But  even  convicted  unworthiness  could  not 


448  MEMOIROF 

tear  him  from  his  heart.  From  among  tVie 
papers  of  that  unfortunate  man,  of  whom, 
though  still  living,  we  may  yet  speak  as  dead, 
and  raise  this  tablet,  if  not  to  his  memory,  at 
least  to  others^  warning  ;  from  among  these  have 
been  saved,  as  relics,  two  letters  (would  there 
had  been  more  i  )  from  his  mourning  friend, 
which  must  have  wrung  from  him  bitter,  and, 
may  we  not  hope  repentant  tears.  The  first  is 
of  a  date  a  short  time  subsequent  to  his  final 
sentence.  The  second,  from  the  Bishop,  bears 
date  but  a  few  weeks  previous  to  his  own  re- 
moval to  a  better  world, 

TO  THOMAS  Y.  HOW,  ESfei. 

'New -York,  March  17,  1819, 
Scarcely  a  day  passes,  my  dear  How,  in  which  I 
do  not  think  of  you.  But  the  scenes  of  our  friendship, 
once  so  interesting,  and  a  source  of  so  much  enjoyment, 
appear  now  a  dreary  waste.  You,  who  know  my  heart, 
and  know  how  much  of  its  happiness  is  placed  in  the 
exercise  of  friendship  and  affection,  can  estimate  what 
a  loss  I  have  sustained  in  your  separation  from  me.  Did 
I  think  you  corrupt  and  abandoned,  I  should  feel  less ; 
but  believing,  notwithstanding  your  great  and  grievous 
sins,  that  your  heart  is  not  depraved,  that  your  prin- 
ciples and  feelings  were  all  hostile  to  the  course  which  you 
were  pursuing,  and  that  now  sincere  and  deep  penitence 
occupies  your  soul,  the  impossibility  of  our  former 
intercourse  of  affection  is  most  distressing  to  me. 
Often  I  think  of  going  to  your  study  in  the  confidence  of 


BISHOP     HOBART.  449 

reposing  on  the  bosom  of  affection;  but  you  are  away, 
and  perhaps,  as  it  regards  our  future  personal  intercourse 
in  this  world,  for  ever.  I  must  not,  however,  dwell  on 
this  subject.  May  God  pardon,  bless,  and  save  you,  is 
my  prayer.  Your  letter  to  the  Messrs.  Swords  was 
delivered.  They  will  write  to  you  on  the  subject  of  it, 
and  will  send  you  the  books  you  requested,  and  the  num- 
bers of  the  Bible. 

Take  care  of  your  soul.  Humble  penitence,  lively 
faith,  firm  resolutions,  constant  prayer  and  watchful- 
ness, you  Avill,  I  trust,  cherish  and  practise.  And  may 
God  pardon,  bless  and  save  you,  through  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  is  the  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate 

J.  H.  HoBART.' 

Let  me  hear  from  you ;  don't  fail. 

On  the  back  of  this  letter  appear,  in  the 
hand-writing  of  him  to  whom  it  was  addressed, 
convulsive  efforts  as  it  were  to  draft  an  answer. 
Nothing,  however,  is  legible  but  mere  snatches 
of  thought  or  feeling,  as  *  I  have ' — *  My  dear 
Hobart' — *  1  am  aware,'  &c.  &c.  It  is  a  dark 
and  fearful  picture,  to  see  the  hand  of  genius 
thus  paralyzed  by  remorse  ;  but,  '  Let  him  who 
thinketh  he  stand  take  heed  lest  he  fall.' 

'  Alas  !  my  brother,  round  thy  tomb. 
In  sorrow  kneeling,  and  in  fear ; 
We  read  the  pastor's  doom, 

Who  speaks  and  will  not  hear.' 


aq2 


460  MEMOIR      OF 

But  we  return  to  more  pleasing  topics.     To 
Dr.  Berrian,  in  Europe,  he  thus  writes : — 

TO  DR.  BERRIAN. 

'  New -York,  July  llth,  1818. 
My  very  dear  Friend, 

You  must  not  conclude,  because  I  have  not  written 
to  you,  that  I  am  indifferent  to  you ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
believe  a  day  has  rarely  passed,  in  which  I  have  not 
thought  of  you  with  interest  and  affection.  But  some- 
thing or  other  has  always  prevented  my  carrying  my 
resolution  to  write  to  you  into  effect.  Procrastination, 
an  aversion  to  writing,  bodily  and  mental  languor,  and 
I  may  add,  more  than  the  ordinary  pressure  of  duties 
and  of  cares ;  and  besides,  I  was  desirous  that  when  I 
did  write,  you  should  receive  my  letter — and  you  seemed 
moving  about  so  much,  that  I  thought  hitherto  the 
chance  was  very  much  against  your  receiving  letters. 
I  knew,  also,  that  Jane  was  constantly  writing  to  you, 
and  acquainting  you  with  all  our  domestic  and  Church 
affairs.  Be  assured,  however,  that  my  heart  has  been 
with  you,  and  that  no  person  has  been  more  delighted 
than  myself  with  the  news  of  the  restoration  of  your 
health.  How  gratified  I  should  have  been  to  be  with 
you.  I  think  I  could  have  seen  with  an  eye  and  a  heart 
as  much  alive  as  your  own  to  the  beauties  of  nature  and 
art,  the  sublime  and  interesting  scenery  through  which 
you  have  passed,  and  the  stupendous  monuments  of  hu- 
man genius,  taste,  and  industry  with  which  you  have 
been,  for  the  year  past,  conversant.  How  much  plea- 
sure do  I  anticipate  from  your  return,  as  well  from  again 
enjoying  your  society,  as  from  the  accounts  which  you 
will  give  me  of  your  travels  !     After  all,  England,  be- 


B  I  S  HOP     HOB  ART.  451 

cause  there  is  the  Church  in  her  apostolic  and  primitive 
purity  of  doctrine  and  ministry,  is  the  most  interesting 
country  to  me.  Get  as  much  information  there  as  you 
can  concerning  the  Church,  its  ministers,  &c.  &c. 

Your  letters  are  grateful  to  us  all.    Shall  we  not  hear 
from  England  ?     That  God  may  bless  you,  and  return 
you  to  us  in  good  health,  is  the  prayer  of 
Your  sincere  and  affectionate, 

J.  H.  HOBART.' 


The  interest  felt  by  Bishop  Hobait  ia  the 
melancholy  remnant  of  our  Indian  popula- 
tion, has  already  been  mentioned.  The  asso- 
ciations of  their  name  and  race,  their  past  his- 
tory, and  present  condition,  above  all,  their 
spiritual  destitution  in  the  midst  of  Christian 
light ;  a  portion  of  them,  too,  within  the  limits 
of  his  own  Diocese,  all  served  to  awaken  his 
commiseration,  and  to  place  them  before  him 
as  a  part  of  the  flock  committed  to  his  guidance. 
Under  these  feelings,  he  took  the  steps  already 
mentioned,  of  sending  among  them  a  catechist 
and  teacher,  and  of  having  prepared  a  transla- 
tion, in  their  own  tongue,  of  portions  of  the 
Gospel  and  Liturgy,  and  he  was  soon  after 
rewarded  by  receiving  from  them  the  following 
letter  of  thanks. 


452  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

It  is  recorded  here,  not  merely  as  throwing 
light  on  Bishop  Hobart's  course  and  character, 
but,  also,  as  a  relic  of  a  race  that  is  rapidly 
passing  from  our  land,  melting  away,  as  it  were, 
before  the  face  of  civilization  ;  whatever,  there- 
fore, is  genuine,  in  relation  to  them,  is  beginning 
to  acquire  something  of  historic  value. 

ADDRESS 

Of  the  Chiefs  of  the  Oneida  Nation  of  Indians  in  the  State  of 
New-  York,  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Hobart.* 

Right  Rev.  Father, — We  salute  you  in  the  name  of 
the  ever-adorable,  ever-blessed,  and  ever-living  sovereign 
Lord  of  the  universe ;  we  acknowledge  this  great  and 
Almighty  Being  as  our  Creator,  Preserver,  and  constant 
Benefactor. 

Right  Rev.  Father, — We  rejoice  that  we  now,  with 
one  heart  and  mind,  would  express  our  gratitude  and 
thankfulness  to  our  great  and  venerable  father,  for  the 
favor  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  this  nation,  viz.  in 
sending  brother  Williams  among  us,  to  instruct  us  in 
the  religion  of  the  blessed  Jesus.  When  he  first  came 
to  us,  we  hailed  him  as  our  friend,  our  brother,  and  our 
guide  in  spiritual  things ;  and  he  shall  remain  in  our 
hearts  and  minds  as  long  as  he  shall  teach  us  the  ways 
of  the  great  Spirit  above. 

Right  Rev.  Father, — We  rejoice  to  say,  that  by  send- 
ing brother  Williams  among  us,  a  great  light  has  risen 
upon  us:   we  see  now  that  the  Christian  religion   is 

*  This  address  was  written  by  a  young  Indian,  who  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Church. 


B  I  S  H  0  P     H  O  E  A  R  T.  453 

intended  for  the  good  of  the  Indians  as  well  as  the 
white  people  ;  we  see  it,  and  do  feel  it,  that  the  religion 
of  the  Gospel  will  make  us  happy  in  this  and  in  the 
world  to  come.  We  now  profess  it  outwardly,  and  we 
hope,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  some  of  us  have  em- 
braced it  inwardly.  May  it  ever  remain  in  our  hearts, 
and  we  be  enabled,  by  the  Spirit  of  the  eternal  One,  to 
practise  the  great  duties  which  it  points  out  to  us. 

Right  Rev.  Father, — Agreeable  to  y  or  request  we 
have  treated  our  brother  with  that  attention  and  kind- 
ness which  you  required  of  us ;  we  have  assisted  him 
all  that  was  in  our  power,  as  to  his  support :  but  you 
know  well  that  we  are  poor  ourselves,  and  Ave  cannot 
do  a  great  deal.  Though  our  brother  has  lived  very 
poor  since  he  came  among  us,  but  he  is  patient,  and 
makes  no  complaint :  we  pity  him,  because  we  love 
him  as  we  do  ourselves.  We  wish  to  do  something  for 
his  support ;  but  this  is  impossible  for  us  to  do  at  pre- 
sent, as  we  have  lately  raised  between  three  and  four 
thousand  dollars  to  enable  us  to  build  a  little  chapel. 

Right  Rev.  Father, — We  entreat  and  beseech  you  not 
to  neglect  us.  We  hope  the  Christian  people  in  New- 
York  will  help  us  all  that  is  in  their  power.  We  hope 
our  brother  will  by  no  means  be  withdrawn  from  us. 
If  this  should  take  place,  the  cause  of  religion  will  die 
among  us  ;  immorality  and  wickedness  will  prevail. 

Right  Rev.  Father, — As  the  head  and  father  of  the 
holy  and  apostolic  Church  in  this  State,  we  entreat  you 
to  take  a  special  charge  of  us.  We  are  ignorant,  we 
are  poor,  and  need  your  assistance.  Come,  venerable 
father,  and  visit  your  children,  and  warm  their  hearts 
by  your  presence,  in  the  things  which  belong  to  their 
everlasting  peace. 


_!X. 


4^  MEMOIROF 

May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  whom  you-serve, 
be  with  you,  and  his  blessing  ever  remain  with  you. 
We,  venerable  father, 

Remain  your  dutiful  children, 

his 

Hendrick  4-  Schuyler, 

mark. 
hi3 

Silas  +  Anonsente, 

mark. 

his 

William  +  Tehoitate, 

mark, 
his 

Daniel  +  Peters, 

mark, 
his 

Nicholas  +  Garaggntie, 

mark, 
his 

William  4-  Sonawenhese, 
mark, 
his 
Moses  -f-  Schuyler, 
mark. 

his 
Hestahel  +  Peters, 
mark, 
his 

William  +  Schuyler, 

mark, 
his 

Abraham  +  Schuyler, 

mark, 
his 

Stofle  -1-  Schuyler, 

mark, 
his 

Hendrick  +  Schuyler,  jun., 

mark 
his 
William  +  Tewagerate. 

mark. 

Oneida,  January,  1818. 


BISHOP     HOB  ART.  456 

THE    bishop's    answer. 

My  Children,* — I  have  received  your  letter  by  your 
brother  and  teacher,  Eleazar  Williams,  and  return  your 
affectionate  and  Christian  salutation,  praying  that  grace, 
mercy,  and  peace,  from  God  the  Father,  and  from  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  may  be  with  you. 

My  Children, — I  rejoice  to  hear  of  your  faith  in  the 
one  living  and  true  God,  and  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
whom  he  has  sent,  whom  to  know  is  life  eternal;  and 
I  pray  that,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  you  may  be  kept 
steadfast  in  this  faith,  and  may  walk  worthy  of  him 
who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous 
light. 

My  Children, — It  is  true,  as  you  say^  that  the  Gospel 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  intended  for 
Indians  as  well  as  white  people.  For  the  great  Father 
of  all  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  ;  and  hath  sent  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  teach  them 
all,  and  to  die  for  them  all,  that  they  may  be  redeemed 
from  the  power  of  sin,  and  brought  to  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  truth,  and  to  the  service  of  the  living  God. 

My  Children, — It  is  true,  as  you  say,  that  the  religion 
of  the  Gospel  will  make  you  happy  in  this  Avorld,  as 
well  as  in  the  world  to  come  ;  and  I  join  in  your  prayer, 
that  you  may  profess  it  inwardly  as  well  as  outwardly ; 
that  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  you  may  be 
transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  minds,  and  acquire 
the  holy  tempers,  and  practise  the  holy  duties  which  the 
Gospel  enjoins.  And  for  this  purpose  I  beseech  you  to 
attend  to  the  instructions  of  your  faithful  teacher  and 

♦  This  is  the  appellation  with  which  the  Indians  expect  to  !•« 
addressed  by  the  Bishop. 


45(J  MEMOIR     U  F 

brother,  Eleazar  Williams ;  to  unite  with  him  in  the 
holy  prayers  of  our  apostolic  Church,  which  he  has 
translated  into  your  own  language ;  to  listen  with  rever- 
ence to  the  divine  word  which  he  reads  to  you  ;  to  receive, 
as  through  grace  you  may  be  qualified,  and  may  have  an 
opportunity,  the  sacraments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Church  ;  and  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  to  lift  up 
your  hearts  in  supplication  to  the  Father  of  your 
spirits,  who  always  and  every  where  hears  and  sees 
you,  for  pardon  and  grace,  to  comfort,  to  teach,  and  to 
sanctify  you,  through  your  divine  Mediator,  Jesus 
Christ. 

My  Children, — Let  me  exhort  you  diligently  to  labor 
to  get  your  living  by  cultivating  the  earth,  or  by  some 
other  lawful  calling :  you  will  thus  promote  your  world- 
ly comfort,  you  will  be  more  respected  among  your  white 
brethren,  and  more  united  and  strong  among  yourselves. 
And  when  you  are  thus  engaged,  you  will  be  saved 
from  many  temptations  ;  and  you  will  prove  yourselves 
to  be  good  disciples  of  Him,  who,  by  his  inspired  apostle, 
has  enjoined,  that  while  we  are  "  fervent  in  spirit "  we 
be  "  not  slothful  in  business." 

My  Children, — Continue  to  respect  and  to  love  your 
brother  and  teacher,  Eleazar  Williams,  and  to  treat 
him  kindly ;  for  he  loves  you,  and  is  desirous  to  devote 
himself  to  your  service,  that,  by  God's  grace,  he  may 
be  instrumental  in  making  you  happy  here  and  here- 
after. It  is  my  wish  that  he  may  remain  with  you, 
and  may  be  your  spiritual  guide  and  instructer. 

My  Children, — I  rejoice  to  hear  that  your  brethren,  the 
Onondagas,  are  desirous  of  knowing  the  words  of  truth 
and  salvation.  I  hope  you  will  not  complain  if  your 
teacher,  Eleazar  Williams,  sometimes  visits  them,  to 
lead  them  in  that  way  to  eternal  life,  which,  from  God's 


BISHOP     HOBART.  457 

word,  he  has  pointed  out  to  you.  Freely  you  have 
received,  you  should  freely  give;  and  being  made  par- 
takers of  the  grace  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  you 
should  be  desirous  that  all  your  red  brethren  may  enjoy 
the  same  precious  gift. 

My  Children, — It  is  my  purpose,  if  the  Lord  will,  to 
come  and  see  you  the  next  summer ;  and  I  hope  to  find 
you  as  good  Christians,  denying  ungodliness  and  world- 
ly lusts,  and  living  righteously,  soberly,  and  godly  in  the 
world.  I  shall  have  you  in  my  heart,  and  shall  remem- 
ber you  in  my  prayers  ;  for  you  are  part  of  my  charge, 
of  that  flock  for  whom  the  Son  of  God  gave  himself 
even  unto  the  death  upon  the  cross,  and  whom  he  com- 
manded his  ministers  to  seek  and  to  gather  into  his 
fold,  that  through  him  they  might  be  saved  for  ever. 
My  Children, 

May  God  be  with  you,  and  bless  you. 

John  Henry  Hobart, 

Bishop  of  the  Prot.  Episc.  Church  in  the 

Stale  of  New- York. 

Dated  at  New-Yoib,  the  1st  day  of  Pebruary,  in  the  year  of  our  Lobd 
1818,  and  in  the  seventh  year  of  my  consecration.* 

The  Bishop  was  not  one  to  allow  such  an 
opening  to  be  fruitless.  As  early  as  he  could, 
therefore,  in  the  following  summer,  he  directed 
his  course  to  the  Oneida  '  Reservation,'  (a  term 
designating  the  Indian  lands,)  where  he  found 
them  dwelling  in  a  state  of  pastoral  simplicity, 
such  as  he  had  never  before  seen,  and  which 
excited  si  ill  inore  deeply  his  interest  in  them. 

♦Journal  of  Convention,  1818,  pp.  43-48. 
R  r 


458  MEMOIR     OF 

Their  rich  extended  domains  were  lying  in 
common,  the  property  of  the  tribe,  not  of  indi- 
viduals, some  little  of  it  cultivated,  more  in 
open  pasture,  but  most  in  its  state  of  native 
wildness,  and  reserved  for  hunting  ground. 
Through  these  forests,  paths  there  were  many, 
but  roads  none,  and  the  generally  rude,  though 
sometimes  neat  and  rustic  dwellings  of  these 
sons  of  the  forest,  lay  scattered  in  wild  but  pic- 
turesque confusion, — some  upon  gentle  emi- 
nences, others  in  rich  valleys  ;  some  open  to  the 
sun,  others  embosomed  in  shade,  and  exhibiting 
here  and  there  traces  of  a  taste  for  natural 
scenery  which  recommended  them  still  further 
(at  least,  as  objects  of  interesting  inquiry)  to 
such  a  lover  of  nature  as  Bishop -Hobart. 

Among  those  who  flocked  around  him,  on  this 
occasion,  as  he  stood  in  the  recesses  of  their  pri- 
meval forests,  was  one  aged  Mohawk  warrior, 
who,  amid  his  heathen  brethren,  had  for  half  a 
century  held  fast  by  that  holy  faith  in  which  he 
had  been  instructed  and  baptized,  by  a  mission- 
ary from  the  Society  in  England,  while  these 
States  were  still  colonies.  Through  the  cate- 
chist,  as  interpreter,  he  now  recounted  the  event 
in  the  figurative  language  of  these  children  of  na- 
ture, and  pointed  out  to  his  admiring  auditor, 
with  as  much  feeling  as  belongs  to  that  imper- 
turbable race,    the  very  spot  where  tlris  early 


BISHOP     HOBART.  459 

missionary  had  been  accustomed  to  assemble 
them,  and  preach  to  a  congregation  which,  as 
it  afterward  appeared,  had  hstened  to  him 
rather  from  curiosity  than  conviction. 

It  was,  as  tlie  Bishop  in  conversation  described 
it,  an  open  glade  in  tlie  forest,  with  a  few  scattered 
oaks  still  vigorous  and  spreading  ;  and  within 
view,  as  if  to  perpetuate  the  association,  now 
arose  the  tower  of  tlie  neat  rustic  church,  which 
the  Christian  party  among  them  had  recently 
erected-  The  interest  of  the  scene  justifies  the 
following,  otherwise  long  extract,  from  his  ad- 
dress to  the  Convention. 


•  It  is  a  subject  of  congratulation  that  our  Church  has 
resumed  the  labors,  which  for  a  long  period  before  the 
revolutionary  war,  the  Society  in  England,  for  Propa- 
gating the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  directed  to  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  Indian  tribes.  Those  labors 
were  not  wholly  unsuccessful ;  for  on  my  recent  visit  to 
the  Oneidas  I  saw  an  aged  Mohawk,  who,  firm  in  the 
faith  of  the  Gospel,  and  adorning  his  profession  by  an 
exemplary  life,  is  indebted,  under  the  Divine  blessing, 
for  his  Christian  principles  and  hopes,  to  the  missionaries 
of  that  venerable  Society.  The  exertions  more  recently 
made  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indian  tribes  have  not 
been  so  successful,  partly  because  not  united  with  efforts 
to  introduce  among  them  those  arts  of  civilization, 
without  which  the  Gospel  can  neither  be  understood 
nor  valued  ;  but  principally  because  religious  instruc- 
tion was  conveyed  through    the  imperfect  medium  of 


460  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

interpreters,  by  those  unacquainted  with  their  disposi- 
tions and  habits,  and  in  whom  they  were  not  disposed 
to  place  the  same  confidence  as  in  those  who  are  con- 
nected with  them  by  the  poAverful  ties  of  language,  of 
manners,  and  of  kindred.  The  religious  instructer  of 
the  Oneidas,  employed  by  our  Church,  enjoys  all  these 
advantages.  Being  of  Indian  extraction,  and  acquaint- 
ed with  their  language,  dispositions,  and  customs,  and 
devoting  himself  unremittingly  to  their  spiritual  and 
temporal  welfare,  he  enjoys  their  full  confidence  ;  while 
the  education  which  he  has  received,  has  increased  his 
qualifications  as  their  guide  in  the  faith  and  precepts  of 
the  Gospel.  Mr.  Eleazar  Williams,  at  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  Oneida  chiefs,  was  licensed  by  me  about 
two  years  since,  as  their  lay  reader,  catechist,  and 
schoolmaster.  Educated  in  a  different  communion,  he 
connected  himself  with  our  Church  from  conviction,  and 
appears  warmly  attached  to  her  doctrines,  her  apostolic 
ministry,  and  her  worship.  Soon  after  he  commenced 
his  labors  among  the  Oneidas,  the  Pagan  party  solemnly 
professed  the  Christian  faith.  Mr.  Williams  repeatedly 
explained  to  them,  in  councils  which  they  held  for  this 
purpose,  the  evidences  of  the  divine  origin  of  Christian- 
ity, and  its  doctrines,  institutions,  and  precepts.  He 
combated  their  objections,  patiently  answered  their  in- 
quiries, and  was  finally,  through  the  Divine  blessing, 
successful  in  satisfying  their  doubts.  Soon  after  their 
conversion  they  appropriated,  in  conjunction  with  the 
old  Christian  party,  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  some  of 
their  lands  to  the  erection  of  a  handsome  edifice  for 
divine  worship,  which  will  be  shortly  completed. 

In  the  work  of  their  spiritual  instruction,  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  a  principal  part  of  which  has  been 
translated  for  their  use,  proves  a  powerful  auxiliary. 


B  I  S  H  O  P      II  O  B  A  R  T.  461 

Its  simple  and  affecting  exhibition  of  the  truths  of  re- 
demption is  calculated  to  interest  their  hearts,  while  it 
informs  their  understanding ;  and  its  decent  and  signifi- 
cant rites  contribute  to  fix  their  attention  in  the  exercises 
of  worship.   They  are  particularly  gratified  with  having 
parts  assigned  them  in  the  service,  and  repeat  the  re- 
sponses with  great  propriety  and  devotion.    On  my  visit 
to  them,  several  hundred  assembled  for  worship  ;  those 
who  could  read  were  furnished  with  books  ;  and  they 
uttered  the  confessions  of  tlie  Liturgy,  responded  its  sup- 
plications, and  chanted  its  hymns  of  praise,  with  a  re- 
verence   and    fervor,  which    powerfully  interested  the 
feelings  of  those  who  witnessed  the  solemnity.     They 
listened  to  my  address  to  them,  interpreted  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, with  so  much  solicitous  attention  ;  they  received 
the   laying  on  'of  hands  with  such  grateful  humility ; 
and  participated  of  the  symbols  of  their  Saviour's  love 
with  such  tears   of  penitential  devotion,  that  the  im- 
pression which  the  scene  made  on  my  mind  will  never 
be  effaced.    Nor  was  this  the  excitement  of  the  moment, 
or  the  ebullition  of  enthusiasm.     The  eighty-nine  who 
were  confirmed  had  been  well  instructed  by  Mr.  AVil- 
liams ;  and  none  were  permitted  to  approach  the  com- 
munion whose  lives  did  not  correspond  with  their  Chris- 
tian professions.     The  numbers  of  those  who  assembled 
for  worship,  and  partook  of  the  ordinances,  would  have 
been  greater,  but  from  the  absence  of  many  of  them  at 
an  Indian  council  at  Buffalo. 

I  have  admitted  Mr.  AVilliams  as  a  candidate  for 
Orders,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee ;  and  look  forward  to  his  increased  influence  and 
usefulness,  should  he  be  invested  with  the  oflfice  of  the 
ministry. 

R  r  2 


463  MEMOIR      OF 

There  is  a  prospect  of  his  having,  some  time  hence, 
a  powerful  auxiliary  in  a  young  Indian,  the  son  of  the 
head  warrior  of  the  Onondagas,  who  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Chippewa,  and  who,  amiable  and  pious  in  his 
dispositions,  and  sprightly  and  vigorous  in  his  intellect- 
ual powers,  is  earnestly  desirous  of  receiving  an  educa- 
tion to  prepare  him  for  the  ministry  among  his  country- 
men. I  trust  that  means  will  be  devised  for  accomplish- 
ing his  wishes.  We  ought  never  to  forget  that  the 
salvation  of  the  Gospel  is  designed  for  all  the  human 
race ;  and  that  the  same  mercy  which  applies  comfort 
to  our  wounded  consciences,  the  same  grace  which 
purifies  and  soothes  our  corrupt  and  troubled  hearts,  and 
the  same  hope  of  immortality  which  fills  us  with  peace 
and  joy,  can  exert  their  benign  and  celestial  influence 
on  the  humble  Indian.'  * 

The  young  chief  here  alluded  to,  as  a 
rising  assistant  to  Mr,  Williams,  was  '  a  full- 
blood'  Indian,  son  of  that  head  warrior  of 
the  Onondaga  tribe  who  had  fallen  on  the 
American  side  during  the  late  war,  in  the  battle 
of  Chippewa.  According  to  tlie  usage  of  Indian 
chieftainship,  he  had  now  succeeded  to  the  rank 
of  his  father,  and  thus  exercised,  as  one  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  nation,  the  usual  patriarchal 
authority  among  them.  In  early  life  he  had 
been  instrucled  in  the  truths  of  Christianity,  by 
Brandt,  a  Christian  wanior  of  the  Mohawks, 
but   was   at   present   under   the   instruction  of 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1818,  pp.  18-20. 


BISHOP     H  O  B  A  R  T.  463 

Williams,  among  the  Oiieidas,  the  nearest  tribe 
to  his  own  in  language  and  feelings. 

About  this  time  he  came  to  tiie  city  of  New- 
York,  with  an  earnest  desire,  as  expressed  by 
himself,  to  receive  an  education  which  might 
qualify  him  for  exercising  the  ministry  among 
his  countrymen,  for  which  office  he  was  said  to 
be  peculiarly  fitted,  not  only  by  superior  talents, 
but  by  a  disposition,  unusual  in  his  race,  pious 
and  diligent.  With  these  views  and  feelings, 
high  hopes  v/erc  entertained  by  the  Bishop  of 
his  future  influence — but  we  hear  no  more  of 
him.  It  is  very  certain  it  was  not  from  "want  of 
means.  Nothing  remains,  therefore,  but  to 
hope  that  he  was  cut  off,  b}^  an  early  death,  in 
the  midst  of  his  good  intentions.  We  say,  hojie, 
since  it  would  be  painful  to  think  that  he 
*  fell  away,'  as  so  many  of  that  wild  race  have 
done,  from  a  profession  of  faitii  that  involved 
too  much  of  exertion,  or  self-denial,  for  their 
indolent  and  fitful  nature. 

This  tribe,  from  the  inteiest  excited  by  the 
Bishop's  narrative,  was,  some  years  after,  visited 
by  the  present  writer,  nor  was  the  '  Gospel  oak' 
forgotten — nor  ever  will  be,  for  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  scene  to  inspire  awe  as  well  as  devo- 
tion. To  stand  encircled  b}?^  that  solemn  grove, 
and  look  upon  it  as  the  temple  to  God,  not  built 
with  hands,  in  which  the  word  of  life  had  first 


464  MEMOIR     OF 

been  preached  to  the  Heatlien  who  dwelt 
around — the  true  God  magnified  in  his  own 
true  temple — 

'  His  own  cathedral  meet, 
Built  by  himself,  star-roof 'd,  and  hung  with  green, 
Wherein  all  breathing  things,  in  concord  sweet, 
Organ'd  by  winds,  perpetual  hymns  repeat,' 

this  was,  indeed,  a  picture  to  be  treasured  up 
in  memory,  and  it  were  well  if  the  temples  of 
art  were  always  thus  hallowed. 

In  the  earlier  periods  of  the  English  Church, 
these  natural  associations  seem  to  have  been 
deeply  felt  and  carefully  nurtured,  since  we  find, 
even  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century,  that 
'  Gospel  trees,'  as  they  were  termed,  venerable 
for  size  and  age,  were  to  be  found,  scattered 
tbrough  the  more  extended  rural  parishes  of 
England;  and  under  their  shade  and  shelter,  a 
simple  rustic  worship,  with  set  forms,  (among 
Andrews'  Devotions  we  find  some  for  this  intent,) 
habitually  celebrated. 

The  flourishing  condition  of  the  Diocese  was, 
this  year,  matter  of  mutual  congratulation. 
The  number  of  its  clergy  had  increased  to 
sixty-eight ;  the  number  of  organized  congre- 
gations to  one  hundred  and  fifteen  ;  and,  within 
the  year  the  Bishop  had  consecrated  six  new 
churches,  three  others  being  also  ready  ;  or- 
dained   twenty   clergymen,   and   reported    ten 


BISHOP     HOBART.  465 

candidates,  pursuing-  their  studies,  together 
with  thirteen  missionaries,  all  actively  engaged 
in  their  laborious  self-denying  round  of  duty. 
An  instance  here  occurs  to  show  the  influence 
of  those  Church  societies  of  which  Bishop  Ho- 
bart  may  be  considered,  in  this  country,  as  the 
father  and  the  founder.  It  exhibits  them,  also,  in 
the  pleasing  light  of  having,  as  the  early  Chris- 
tians had,  *all  things  in  common,'  for  the 
Church. 

'  I  ought  to  mention,  with  high  commendation,  the 
pious  zeal  of  the  New-York  Protestant  Episcopal  Mis- 
sionary Society,  constituted  in  aid  of  the  "  Committee 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel,"  charged  with  the  business 
of  missions.  But  for  the  meritorious  exertions  of  the 
members  of  that  institution,  we  should  have  been  un- 
able to  have  paid  the  low  salaries  of  our  missionaries. 
This  society  has  contributed  for  this  purpose,  for  the 
past  year,  about  eight  hundred  dollars.'  * 


On  the  subject  of  religious  *  revivals,'  as  they 
are  popularly  termed,  excited  and  maintained 
by  irregular  and  protracted  meetings  for  prayer, 
Bishop  Hobart  felt  himself  called  upon,  on 
this  occasion,  as  on  many  others,  to  enter  his 
protest,  with  a  view  to  guard  both  his  clergy 
and  laity  against  them.     He  foresaw,  from  the 

♦  Journal  of  Convention,  181S,  p.  21. 


iQ6  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

first,  those  dangers  with  which  experience  has 
since  shown  tliem  to  be  fraught — the  wild  ex- 
citement— the  hasty  profession — the  subsequent 
deadness — the  frequent  scandal — the  despising 
of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace — the  invidious 
and  unchristian  distinctions — the  heresy  and  the 
schism — all  these  were  present  to  his  mind  ; 
and  while  he  approved  the  motives  of  many, 
and  was  wilHng  to  admit  the  sincerity  of  all,  he 
j^et  condemned  their  judgment,  and  deprecated, 
most  earnestly,  the  admission  into  the  Church 
of  any  practices  tending  to  give  them  currency. 
On  tliis  occasion  he  urged  upon  them  the  les- 
sons of  past  experience,  and  the  judgment  of  the 
wise  and  good  in  the  ages  before  them. 

'  My  brethren  of  the  clergy,  suffer  me,  seriously  and 
affectionately,  with  a  view  to  guard,  not  against  pre- 
sent, but  possible  evils,  to  fortify  these  sentiments  by 
an  authority  to  which  an  appeal  ought  never  to  be 
made  in  vain.  It  is  the  authority  of  one  whose  piety 
was  as  humble  and  fervent  as  his  judgment  was  pene- 
trating and  discriminating,  and  his  learning  extensive 
and  profound.  It  is  the  authority  of  one,  too,  who  lived 
in  those  times  when  the  private  associations  com- 
menced, the  effects  of  which  he  deprecated,  but  which 
were,  finally,  awfully  realized,  in  the  utter  subversion 
of  the  goodly  fabric  of  the  Church  whose  ministry  he 
adorned,  and  in  the  triumph,  on  her  ruins,  of  the  innu- 
merable forms  of  heresy  and  schism.  The  judicious 
Hooker  thus    speaks,  in    that  work  on   ecclesiastical 


BISHOP      II  O  C  A  R  T.  167 

polity  in  which  he  delivers  so  many  lessons  of  profound 
wisdom. 

"  To  him  who  considers  the  grievous  and  scandalous 
inconveniences  whereunto  they  make  themselves  daily 
subject,  Avith  whom  any  blind  and  secret  corner  is 
judged  a  fit  house  of  common  prayer  ;  the  manifold 
confusion  which  they  fall  into,  v/here  every  man's  pri- 
vate spirit  and  gift,  as  they  term  it,  is  the  only  bishop 
that  ordaineth  him  to  this  ministry  ;  the  irksome  de- 
formities, whereby,  through  endless  and  senseless  effu- 
sions of  indigested  prayers,  they  who  are  subject  to  no 
certain  order,  but  pray  both  what  and  how  they  list, 
often  disgrace,  in  most  insufferable  manner,  the  wor- 
tliiest  part  of  Christian  duty  toward  God  ;  to  him,  I 
say,  who  weigheth  duly  all  these  things,  the  feasons 
cannot  be  obscure,  who  God  doth  in  public  prayer  so 
much  regard,  the  solemnity  of  j^Zaces  where,  the  author- 
ity and  calling  of  persons  by  ivhom,  and  the  precise 
appointment,  even  with  what  words  and  sentences,  his 
name  shall  be  called  on,  amongst  his  people." ' 

Now,  in  this  condemnation,  who  will  say  that 
Bishop  Hobart  erred  1  Then,  indeed,  he  was  pro- 
scribed as  a  bigot,  and  preached  against  as  a  for- 
malist, and  prayed  against  as  one  who  'sore  let 
and  hindered  the  free  course  of  the  word  of  God,' 
and  that,  by  the  very  men  who  are  now  willing 
to  hold  this  language  : — 

'  What,'  says  one  of  them,  ^  will  be  the  final  result  of 
protracted  meetings  as  they  are  now  conducted  by 
Evangelists?  What  effect  will  these  seasons  of  intense 
excitement  and  mental  exhaustion  have  upon  the  future 


468  MEMOIR      OF 

interests  of  the  Church  ?  These  are  questions  of  solemn 
moment ;  and  we  are  apprehensive  that  they  have  not 
been  sufficiently  examined.  Means  not  expressly 
sanctioned  by  the  word  of  God,  should  be  viewed  in 
their  ultimate  bearing,  as  well  as  immediate  effects. 
We  are  confident  that  many  are  deceived  by  present 
appearances,  who  will  become  wiser  from  experience. 
It  is  inspiring  to  see  crowds,  day  after  day,  pressing 
into  the  house  of  God.  Converts,  real  or  apparent, 
multiply  like  the  drops  of  the  morning.  Sinners,  cal- 
lous under  the  ordinary  means  of  grace,  are  awakened. 
Christians  are  full  of  faith  and  joy ;  and  the  preacher 
holds  the  vast  assembly  in  admiration  by  his  bold  and 
novel  manner  of  exhibiting  the  truth,  and  the  skilful- 
ness  of  his  movements.  Painful  doubts,  indeed,  are 
revolved  in  many  a  mind  concerning  the  machinery; 
but  the  sensibilities  become  accustomed  to  the  shock, 
and  fear  subsides  into  belief  that  the  Spirit  of  grace  is 
present,  and  that  the  e7id  will  sanctify  the  means.  This 
is  the  bright  side  of  the  scene.  But  it  has  also  a  dark  side. 
How  many  will  lose  their  zeal  when  the  exciting 
causes  are  withdrawn?  How  many  will  make  a  hasty 
and  vain  profession  ?  How  many  churches  will  be 
prepared  for  disorganization,  and  the  dismission  of  their 
pastors,  from  the  demand  for  the  so  called  "revival 
preaching  ? "  The  long  meeting  at  last  closes.  The 
chief  agent  retires.  The  crowd  of  strangers  disperses. 
The  sick  and  the  exhausted  seek  for  rest.  The  great 
congregation  has  dwindled  aAvay  to  its  former  size. 
The  children  born  and  cradled  in  the  tempest  grow 
languid  in  the  calm.  They  have  little  relish  for  ordi- 
nary food,  and  crave  the  absent  stimulus.  What  now 
is  to  be  done  ?  The  pastor,  if  it  were  possible,  must  not 
imitate   his   exemplar.      This   would   be   fatal.      The 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  4C9 

Evangelist  himself,  had  he  sufficient  mental  and  phy- 
sical strength,  could  not  pursue  his  own  measures  in 
one  congregation  for  a  twelvemonth.  And  if  the  com- 
mon means  of  grace  are  not  adequate  to  procure  the 
reviving  influence  of  the  Spirit,  they  are  not  adequate 
to  preserve  its  reviving  influence  when  procured  by 
special  means.  We  ask,  then,  what  next?  Who  shall 
calculate  on  the  benefit  of  ordinary  medicine,  after  the 
most  powerful  has  been  exhausted  ? '  * 

No  wonder  that  the  Bishop  was  zealous  for 
the  distribution  of  the  Prayer-book,  when  he 
witnessed  such  results  as  the  above  from  the 
neglect  of  it,  or,  as  the  following,  from  its  con- 
scientious use. 

*  The  circulation  of  the  Prayer-book  among  those 
unacquainted  with  it,  has  almost  invariably  tended  to 
soften,  if  not  to  remove  prejudices,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, to  produce  a  warm  attachment  to  it.  In  one 
place,  a  well-organized  and  respectable  Episcopal  con- 
gregation subsists,  where  a  year  since  there  was  not  an 
Episcopal  family  ;  and  many  of  the  persons  who  com- 
pose it  owe  either  their  first  serious  impressions,  or 
the  confirmation  of  their  pious  principles  and  hopes, 
to  the  perusal  of  the  Prayer-book  with  which  they 
had  been  unacquainted,  and  which  was  put  into  their 
hands.'  t 

♦  Extract  from  article  in  the  '  Literary  and  Theological  Re- 
view,' by  Rev,  W.  Mitchell,  of  Rutland,  Vermont, 
t  Journal  of  Convention,  1818,  p,  21. 
Sb 


470  MEMOIR     OF 

As  the  outcry  against  Bishop  Hobait  ever 
was,  that  he  was  not  '  evangelical,'  it  is  due  to 
him  to  put  here  upon  record  his  claim  to  that 
title.  It  is  taken  from  the  Christian  Journal  of 
this  year,  being  editorial,  and  headed 

'  EVANGELICAL    PREACHING. 

Those  truths  of  the  Gospel  which  characterize  it  as  a 
system  of  faith,  distinct  from  a  code  of  morals,  as  a  dis- 
pensation of  mercy  to  man,  through  a  Redeemer,  may  be 
considered  as  evangelical — as  those  truths  which  deno- 
minate it  "  glad  tidings."     The  most  cursory  reader  of 
the  New  Testament  must  perceive  that  the  following 
truths  are  inculcated  in  every  part  of  this  sacred  volume  : 
— That  man  is  in  a  fallen  and  corrupt  state  ;  that  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  has  made  atonement  for  the 
sins  of  man ;  that  through  the  merits  of  Christ  only 
can  guilty  man  be  justified ;  that  by  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  only  can  corrupt  man  be  sanctified ;  that 
while  the  atonement  of  Christ  is  the  meritorious  cause 
of  salvation,  repentance  and  faith  producing  holy  obedi- 
ence,  are   the   indispensable    conditions    of    salvation, 
without  which  no  man  to  whom  the  Gospel  is  preached 
will   be  saved  ;    and    that,   in  the  exercise   of  repent- 
ance and  faith,   the  merits  and  grace  of  Christ  are 
applied  to  the  believer,  to  his  justification  and    sanc- 
tification,    through   his   union    with    the    Church,    the 
mystical   body  of  Christ,  by  the  participation  of  its 
sacraments  and  ordinances  dispensed  by  its  authorized 
ministry.'  * 

*  '  Christian  Journal,'  January,  1818,  p.  31. 


B  I  S  H  O  P      H  O  B  A  R  T.  471 

In  concluding  his  address  to  the  Convention 
he  enlarged  on  the  two  points  ever  nearest  his 
heart — missionaries  to  spread  the  Church  wide, 
and  a  theological  seminary  to  lay  its  founda- 
tions deep. 

*But  while  my  recent  visitation  of  the  Diocese 
afforded  me  many  subjects  of  gratification,  emotions  of 
a  different  nature  were  frequently  excited.  I  often  heard 
earnest  calls  for  the  ministry  and  worship  of  our 
Church,  which  could  not  be  gratified.  And  I  saw  fields 
ripe  for  the  harvest,  which  were  reaped  by  others,  from 
our  want  of  laborers  to  enter  on  the  work.  The  indis- 
pensable importance  of  a  theological  seminary,  and  of 
provision  for  missionaries,  more  forcibly  than  ever  im- 
pressed my  mind.  We  now  lose  many  young  men  of 
talents  and  piety,  from  our  want  of  the  means  of  aiding 
them  in  their  preparation  for  the  ministry.  And  even 
if  the  number  of  those  who  enter  the  ministry  of  our 
Church,  were  not,  as  they  are,  greatly  inadequate  to 
supply  all  the  situations  where  their  labors  might  be 
profitably  exerted,  a  theological  institution  would  be 
necessary,  as  the  best  and  the  only  effectual  means  of 
furnishing  our  candidates  for  Orders  with  those  ac- 
quirements which  will  enable  them  forcibly,  eloquently, 
and  successfully  to  explain,  defend,  and  inculcate  the 
truths  of  religion.  Prosperous  in  many  respects,  as 
is  our  Church  in  this  Diocese,  her  prosperity  would 
have  been  tenfold  greater,  if  we  had  enjoyed  adequate 
means  of  theological  education,  and  of  missionary 
support. 

To  these  objects  then,  my  brethren  of  the  clergy  and 
laity,  let  me  direct  your  zealous  efforts,  and  beseech  you 


472  M  E  M  O  1  R     O  F 

unceasingly  to  direct  the  efforts  of  all  over  whom  you 
may  have  any  influence.  Your  Church  needs  all  your 
affection,  all  your  zeal,  and  all  your  pecuniary  means ; 
and  she  deserves  them  all.  In  promoting  the  extension 
of  this  pure  branch  of  the  Church  of  the  Redeemer, 
you  will  best  advance  the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation 
of  men ;  and  faithful  to  the  lessons  of  evangelical  truth 
which  our  Church  inculcates,  you  will  save  your  own 
souls,  while  you  contribute  your  part  in  the  most  ex- 
alted work  of  benevolence,  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of 
your  fellow-men.'  * 


*  Journal  of  Convention,  1818,  pp.  21,  22. 


BISHOP      H  O  B  AR  T.  473 


CHAPTER  XX. 
A.  D.  1819— ^f.  44. 

Letter  from  Rev.  H.  H.  Norris — Mant  and  D'Oyley's  Family  Bible — 
Defects — Bishop  Hobart's  Labors  in  it — General  Views  of  a  Bible 
Commentary — Bishop  Hobart  in  Retirement — Visit  to  the  Short  Hillt 
— His  Occupations — Second  Visit  to  the  Oneidas — Address  to  the 
Convention — Influence  of  a  Gift  of  a  Prayer-book — Charge  to  the 
Clergy — '  The  Churchman  ' — Extracts  on  the  '  Liberality  of  the  Age' 
— Resignation  of  the  Charge  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut — Conse- 
cration of  Bishop  Brownell. 

The  following  year,  1819,  brought  with  it, 
not  only  its  usual  burthen  of  labor,  but  a  large 
increase,  in  the  republication  and  enlargement 
of  Mant  and  D'Oyley's  great  Family  Bible. 
This  is  alluded  to  in  the  following  letter,  from 
Rev.  H.  H.  Norris,  of  Hackney,  London. 

FRO.M  REV.  H.  H.   NORRIS. 

^Grove-street,  Hackney^  April  IQth,  1820. 
Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

The  books  with  which  you  have  favored  me,  in 
some  measure  conveyed  the  information  which  I  looked 
for  from  your  own  pen,  and  they  may  be  pleaded  with 
unanswerable  evidence  as  an  excuse  for  your  not  using 
it  more  punctually  to  your  correspondents.  I  rejoice  to 
see  the  Church  of  Christ,  with  no  other  aid  but  its 
own  spiritual  energies,  so  efficiently  answering  all  those 
great   purposes   for  which   it   was   constituted  by   its 

S  82 


474  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

divine  Founder.  I  survey,  with  especial  delight  the 
American  edition  of  our  family  Bible,  and  your  own, 
by  the  additional  notes  interspersed  among  those  of  the 
English  edition. 

I  hope  you  will  be  more  copious  in  your  additional 
notes,  when  you  come  to  the  gospels  ;  as  there,  I  think, 
we  are  particularly  scanty  and  superficial.  Some  of  the 
old  English  divines  might  well  be  exchanged  for  the 
modern.  I  rejoice  to  see,  also,  that  you  have  bodies  of 
young  men  incorporated  in  your  religious  societies,  and 
that  in  these  societies  the  genuine  Christian  principles 
are  so  well  defined  and  supported  ;  that  your  Church  is 
spreading  together  with  the  spread  of  your  population ; 
and  that  so  much  zeal  is  called  forth  in  the  prosecution 
of  all  these  important  objects  ;  but  above  all,  I  rejoice 
in  your  Convention,  and  in  the  wisdom  which  governs 
all  its  deliberations. 

You  will  expect  to  hear  from  me  what  our  present 
circumstances  and  exertions  are.  Alas !  our  great 
grievance  is,  that  we  have  not,  like  you,  a  convention. 
Our  convocation  is  only  the  pageantry  of  what  formerly 
so  materially  contributed  to  the  purity  and  consolidation 
of  the  Church.  It  is  probably  true  that  infidelity  has 
been  most  extensively  propagated,  and  with  too  abun- 
dant success,  among  the  lower  orders,  especially  in  our 
thickly-peopled  manufacturing  districts  ;  and  that  they 
have  been  bereft  of  all  hopes  and  fears  of  an  hereafter, 
that  they  might  be  let  loose  from  all  moral  restraint, 
and  be  prepared  for  those  desperate  acts  of  violence 
which  their  seducers  must  find  hands  to  perpetrate.  But 
there  is  amongst  us  what  has  been  very  happily  de- 
scribed as  the  quiet  good  sense  of  Englishmen,  which, 
without  showing  itself,  still  retains  a  mighty  influence, 
and  diffuses  its  correctives  in  streams  as  copious  and  as 


Bi  s  HOP    HOB  aut.  475 

diffusive  in  their  currents  as  those  in  which  the  poison 
flows.  Our  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge 
has  been  gradually  advancing  itself  in  power  and  influ- 
ence, as  the  sons  of  confusion  have  been  spreading  their 
seductions  ;  and  when  I  tell  you  that  we  put  in  circula- 
tion, in  the  year  ending  at  our  last  audit,  upward  of  one 
million  four  hundred  thousand  Bibles,  Prayer-books,  and 
religious  tracts,  by  much  the  larger  portion  dispersed  at 
home,  you  will  at  once  see  how  powerful  an  antidote  is 
in  regular  diurnal  application  against  all  the  evil 
working  among  us. 

It  is  true,  that  during   the  tremendous  convulsions 
occasioned  by  the  French  Revolution,  the  attention  of 
government  was  engrossed  by  the  dangers  menacing  us 
from  without,  and  had  no  leisure  to  exercise  domestic 
vigilance.     It  is  true,  that  a  sort  of  generalized  religion 
has  been  diffused  very  extensively,  but  sound  Church- 
manship,  as  well  in  faith  as  discipline,  has  had  a  stimu- 
lus given  to  it  by  these  defections.     The  battle  between 
faith  and  indifference,  and  unity  and  amalgamation,  has 
been  well  fought;  and  as   far  as   rational   conviction 
goes,  the  former,  in  both  instances,    have  triumphed 
over  their  assailants;  and  most  certainly  the  present 
and  the  rising  generation  have  been  stimulated  by  the 
conflict,  to  acquire  the  ability  to   give  a  much   more 
satisfactory  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them,  than 
the  generation  to  which  they  succeeded. 

Our  universities,  Oxford  especially,  have  been  repair- 
ing the  decays  of  discipline  and  of  the  requisite  know- 
ledge for  their  degrees  ;  and  a  competent  knowledge  of 
the  evidences  and  principles  of  Christianity  is  made 
indispensable  to  every  one.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
lost  ground  to  recover,  and  a  great  deal  of  mischief  to 


47(j  MEMOIR      OF 

be  warded  off  and  neutralized  ;  but  this  convic- 
tion is  both  forcibly  and  extensively  awakened.  Our 
only  solid  foundation  is  the  making  it  appear  that 
we  are  what  we  profess  to  be,  the  genuine  Church  of 
Christ;  that  we  hold  forth  the  true  light,  and  walk 
worthy  of  our  vocation.  This  conviction  is  operating 
widely  amongst  us,  and  there  is  a  growing  interest 
taken  in  the  study  of  theology,  and  workmen  that  need 
not  be  ashamed  are  multiplying. 

But  after  all,  amidst  the  fluctuations  of  hope  and 
fear  for  the  political  ascendency  of  the  Church,  which 
cannot  fail  to  agitate  every  reflecting  man,  as  he  sur- 
veys alternately  what  is  doing  to  strengthen  the  Esta- 
blishment, and  what  to  undermine  it ;  still,  as  a  spiritual 
body,  the  prospect  most  certainly  is  progressively  bright- 
ening ;  and  if  called  to  suffer,  my  confidence  is,  that 
grace  will  be  given  her  to  witness  a  good  confession, 
and  that  to  those  who  have  eyes  to  see  it,  she  will  be 
more  glorious  under  persecution  than  with  the  honors 
which  now  constitute  her  earthly  splendor. 
I  remain. 
With  great  respect  and  affection, 

Very  truly  yours, 

H.  H.  NoRRis.' 

The  republication  above  referred  to  was  a 
labor  of  no  ordinary  magnitude,  and  gave  em- 
ployment to  the  Bishop's  pen  and  leisure  mo- 
ments for  near  five  years,  being  begun  in  1818, 
and  completed,  in  sickness  and  sorrow,  at  the 
moment  of  his  embarkation  to  Europe,  in  1823. 
Of  this  voluminous  work,  '  more  than  a  third 


BISHOP      HOBART.  477 

part  of  its  very  copious  notes,'  say  the  publishers, 
'  are  the  result  of  his  untiring  labor.' 

It  would,  perhaps,  have  been  better  could 
the  whole  have  been  recast  by  him.  The 
original  was  a  work,  not  only  too  hastily  done 
to  be  critically  well  done,  in  what  it  proposed 
to  do,  but  also  wanting  somewhat  of  unity  and 
spirituality,  from  the  very  principle  on  which 
it  went,  of  being  a  selection  from  the  thoughts 
of  many.  Bishop  Hobart  saw  and  felt  these 
deficiencies  ;  for  the  correction  of  the  first,  sup- 
posing he  had  the  scholarship,  he  certainly  had 
not  the  time,  neither  did  he  regard  it  as  its 
most  serious  defect ;  it  was  one  that  touched  the 
scholar  rather  than  the  Christian.  But,  to  the 
supply  of  the  latter  want,  he  sedulously  devoted 
himself,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  give  to  the 
commentary,  what  before  it  could  scarcely  be 
said  to  have,  a  j)ractical  character ;  such  as 
alone  could  fit  it  to  be  what  it  claims  to  be,  *  a 
Family  Bible.' 

Like  all  other  services,  which  involve  only' 
industry  and  sound  judgment,  this  labor  of 
Bishop  Hobart  has  never  received  its  due 
meed  of  praise.  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  however, 
that  the  field  is  yet  open  to  improvement.  Such 
a  commentary  as  is  needed,  for  the  daily 
use  of  private  Christians,  is  s(ill  among  the 
*  desiderata  '  of  practical  theology.     Would  it 


478  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

were  not  so  !  for  its  influence  to  good  would  be 
incalculable — but  what  it  should  be  is  a  task 
easier  to  conceive  than  to  execute.     It  needs, 
for  its  performance,  both  plurality  and  unity — 
the  minds  of  many,  and  the  governing  mind  of 
one — it  must  have  scholarship,  and  yet  be  above 
it  —  giving   the    wheat   without   the   chaff  of 
human    learning.     It    must    be   deep    without 
being   abstruse,    and    familiar    without    being 
common-place.    It  must  have  variety  of  thought 
without  opposition  of  sentiment,  and  uniformity 
of  doctrine  without  tediousness   of  repetition  ; 
free,   alike,   from   the  mannerism    of  a    single 
commentator  and  the  distraction  of  many.     It 
must   gather   its    materials    from    a    thousand 
sources,  and  yet  cast  them  into  one  mould,  and 
that  mould  bearing  the  impress  of  one  master 
mind,  and  that  mind  itself  moulded  upon  the 
living  truths   of  the   Gospel,   imbued  with   its 
spirit,  sanctified  to  its  service,  and  devoting  the 
unbroken  energies  of  a  life  to  this  noblest  of  all 
labors.  Thus,  and  thus  alone,  with  prayer  to  him 
who  enlightens,  and  trust  in  him  who  strength- 
ens, may  be  built  up,  out  of  the  materials  which 
God  hath  given,  in  his  word  and  in  his  works, 
a  spiritual  temple  to  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  the  salvation  of  the  sinner  ;  bringing  aid 
to  the  learned,  admonition  to  the  thoughtless, 
and   refutation    to    the    infidel.     But   whence 


BISHOP     II  0  B  AR  T.  47'J 

shall  such  a  mighty  work  proceed  ?  May  we 
not  hope,  that  among  the  riper  fruits  of  our 
General  Theological  Seminary  this  will  be  one — 
the  crowning  debt  of  the  Church  to  that  noble 
institution  to  which  it  already  owes  so  much. 
Learning,  piet}-,  and  talent  are  already  there. 
Its  library,  under  the  bounty  of  Churchmen, 
is  vapidly  growing  to  what  is  needful  for  such 
a  task.  What  then  is  wanting,  but  some  wise 
endowment  that  shall  furnish  to  some  fit  mind 
the  adequate  means  of  learned  leisure,  and  sole 
devotion  to  this  great  work — which,  completed, 
would  be  the  greatest  human  gift  the  learning 
of  the  Church  to  the  laity  could  give,  as  well 
as  the  greatest,  the  laity  can  from  the  Church 
receive. 

Bishop  Hobart's  name  and  reputation  were 
now  widely  spread.  Among  the  pleasing  evi- 
dences of  it  may  be  reckoned  the  voluntary 
correspondence  of  many  wise  and  good  Chris- 
tians in  foreign  countries,  especially  in  the 
Church  of  England.  The  following  may  be 
added  to  those  already  given. 

FROM  RKV.  J.  II.  SPRET. 

*  Birmingham,  England,  March  20lh,  181D. 
Right  Rev.  Sir, 

Some  apology  is  due  to  you  for  the  liberty  which' 
Is  a  perfect  stranger,  I  ta!:e  in  addressing  you;  but  a 


480  MEMOIR      OF 

cannot  resist  the  opportunity  afforded  me,  of  sending 
this  letter  by  a  confidential  friend,  who  is  on  the  point 
of  sailing  for  Philadelphia,  to  express  the  very  sincere 
respect  and  admiration  which  I  feel  for  your  character, 
and  your  exertions  in  support  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
in  which  you  hold  so  important  a  station. 

It  is  but  common  gratitude  in  me,  who  have  derived 
so  much  benefit  as  well  as  satisfaction  from  your  labors, 
thus  to  return  you  my  thanks ;  and  at  the  same  time 
permit  me  to  request  your  acceptance  of  the  accompany- 
ing volume,  in  which  I  have  humbly  endeavored  to 
contribute  my  mite  to  the  support  and  defence  of  the 
truth.  In  the  present  dangerous  days,  when  the  enemies 
of  the  Church  are  combining  on  all  sides  against  her, 
it  is  highly  desirable  that  she  should  derive  all  possible 
benefit  from  the  associated  labors  of  her  friends ;  and  it 
would  be  an  event  most  beneficial,  most  desirable,  could 
some  regular  channel  of  communication  be  opened  be- 
tween the  zealous  members  of  your  Church  and  ours. 
On  this  subject  I  believe  my  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Norris, 
of  Hackney,  has  already  addressed  you  ;  and  I  hope  you 
will  allow  an  humble  individual,  like  myself,  to  add 
that  I  shall  be  most  happy  in  any  way  to  further  so 
good  a  work. 

Humbly  praying  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
may  pour  down  his  blessings  upon  you,  and  all  whom 
he  has  called  to  bear  rule  in  his  spiritual  kingdom,  in 
every  quarter, 

Believe  me.  Right  Rev.  Sir, 
Your  very  faithful  and  humble  servant, 

J.  H.  Sprey.' 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  481 

Retirement,  '  that  pleasure  of  kings,  and 
choice  of  philosophers,'  was  what  Bishop  Ho- 
bart,  with  all  his  love  for  it,  could  seldom  enjoy. 
His  rural  retreat  in  the  hills  has  been  already 
mentioned.  Occasional  retirement  to  it  not 
only  was  a  needful  repose  to  a  mind  and  body 
always  overworked,  but  also  one  of  those  high 
positive  gratifications  which  those,  only,  who 
had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  him  in  it,  could 
fully  appreciate.  This  was  a  privilege  which 
fell  to  the  lot  of  his  biographer  in  the  sum- 
mer of  the  present  year  (1819.)  He  then  made 
his  friend  and  bishop  a  visit  at  his  '  lodge  in  the 
wilderness,'  in  his  way  to  his  own  summer  cot- 
tage at  Hyde  Park. 

It  was  a  spot  of  little  external  pretension,  but 
great  rural  beaut}'^,  and  commanding  a  noble 
view  over  a  varied  and  broken  foreground  of 
wooded  country,  into  the  level  and  fertile  plains 
beyond,  of  lower  Jersey,  until  the  spires  of  the 
city  of  New-York  were  seen  dimly  rising  in 
the  distance,  about  fifteen  miles  removed ;  and 
among  the  objects  there  seen,  though  not  by 
the  eye  distinguishable,  was  the  very  window 
of  Bishop  Hobart's  early  ^attic  study,  out  of 
which  his  eye  had  rested  with  delight,  twenty 
vears  before,  on  these  same  shady  hills,  in 
which  he  was  now  reposing. 

None  but  they  who  have  seen  Bishop  Hobarl 
T  t 


482  MEMOIR      OF 

in  this  rural  solitude,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
can  fully  appreciate  the  native,  childlike  sim- 
plicity of  his  character.  He  was  the  youth  in 
gayety — the  very  boy  in  his  capacity  for  enjoy- 
ment. The  budding  flower  and  the  setting 
sun,  the  chirping  bird,  the  summer  cloud,  or  the 
bright  rainbow  that  tinted  it,  were  all  to  him, 
as  it  were,  fresh  and  new.  He  gazed,  or  he 
listened,  not  so  much  with  the  rational  reflect- 
ing pleasure  of  the  man,  as  with  the  warm- 
hearted delight  of  the  child  ;  and  so  lovely  and 
unpretending  was  the  display  of  it,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  be  with  hiin  without  catching 
somewhat  of  his  own  simple-hearted  enthusiasm. 
But  thus  is  it  ever  with  all  true  lovers  of  nature  ; 
the  language  of  the  poet  is  that  of  the  unso- 
phisticated heart  all  the  world  over. 

'  My  heart  leaps  up  when  I  behold 

A  rainbow  in  the  sky ; 
So  was  it  when  my  life  began, 
So  is  it  now  I  am  a  man  ; 
So  let  it  be  when  I  grow  old, 

Or  let  me  die. 
The  child  is  father  of  the  man, 
And  I  would  wish  my  days  to  be 
Bound  each  to  each  by  natural  piety.' 

Nor  were  his  country  pleasures  merely  pas- 
sive. In  walking  through  his  orchards,  he 
pointed  out  to  his  guest  his  various  experiments 


B  I  S  II  O  P     H  0  B  A  R  T.  483 

for  the  renovation  of  the  plum  and  the  peach, 
fruits,  at  that  time  generally  blasted  by  some 
unknown  disease  ;  and  his  nurseries  of  the  locust, 
the  most  valuable  of  our  trees  for  strength  and 
durabilit}^,  the  seed  of  which  he  had  procured 
of  Dr.  Bard,  at  Hyde  Park,  naturalized  on  his 
own  grounds,  and  dispersed  in  his  journeys 
throughout  the  Diocese,  wherever  he  found  poor 
parsons  and  glebe  farms  ;  leaving  with  them 
the  seed,  instructing  them  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  tree,  and  encouraging  them  to  raise  it,  by 
telling  them  of  its  lovely  shade,  and  rich  scented 
flowers,  and  valuable  timber,  and  how  beautiful 
it  would  look  around  the  doors  of  their  rustic 
parsonage.  Thus  introduced  by  him,  it  is  now 
to  be  seen  in  the  extreme  western  and  northern 
bounds  of  his  Diocese  ;  trees,  from  seed  brought 
by  the  Bishop,  being  pointed  out  with  pride, 
in  many  places,  as  the  parent  plant  of  all  others 
in  the  neighborhood. 

Thus  were  some  early  locust  trees  pointed 
out  to  the  writer,  with  tearful  eyes,  at  the 
parsonage  at  Turin,  Lewis  county,  by  its  then 
warm-hearted  rector,  after  that  he  who  had  given 
them  to  him  had  gone  to  his  rest.  This  men- 
tion of  that  neat  rural  dwelling,  recalls  a  little 
incident  that  occurred  there  about  this  time, 
equally  illustrative  of  the  moderate  wishes  of 
its   rector  and   the  warm-hearted   kindness  of 


484  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

his  bishop.  Upon  the  Bishop  admiring,  as  was 
natural,  the  little  rural  adornments  around  the 
house,  on  which  the  other  as  naturally  prided 
himself,  the  latter  exclaimed,  '  O,  Bishop,  if  I 
could  but  afford  to  lay  out  twenty  dollars  a  year 
on  its  improvement,  1  should  make  it  a  perfect 
paradise.'  '  Why,  my  good  friend,'  said  the 
Bishop,  smiling  at  the  moderate  sum  at  which 
even  an  earthly  paradise  was  to  be  purchased, 
'you  shall  have  it  a  paradise — the  money  is 
yours.'  It  need  hardly  be  added,  he  more  than 
made  good  his  promise. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  uses  he  made  of  his 
retirement.  Solitude  was  with  him  the  nurse 
of  action,  and  he  never  failed  to  return  from  it 
hetter  furnished  for  the  race  and  contest  of 
duty — with  new  vigor  for  whatever  was  good, 
and  with  new  plans  and  methods  for  attain- 
ing it. 


The  Convention  of  this  year  (1819)  met,  for 
the  first  time,  in  Albany  ;  like  the  last,  it  was 
largely  attended,  evincing  the  results  of  the  un- 
wearied labor  of  its  Diocesan.  The  number  of 
clergy  in  the  Diocese  seventy-three,  of  candi- 
dates twenty-one  ;  an  increase,  from  last  year, 
of  five  in  the  former,  and  eleven  in  the  latter. 
Among  the  visitations  of  interest  recorded,  was 


BISHOP     HOCART.  485 

a  second  one  to  his  Indian  '  children,'  that  being 
the  title  by  Avhich,  in  their  intercourse  with 
him,  they  loved  to  be  addressed. 

'  Among  the  pleasing  circumstances  which  I  noticed 
in  my  recent  visitation,  was  the  consecration  of  the  In- 
dian chapel  at  Oneida,  and  the  evidence  of  the  continued 
zeal  of  Mr.  Eleazar  "Williams,  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  his  Indian  brethren.  The  young  Onondaga  chief, 
whom  I  mentioned  in  my  last  address  as  desirous  of 
procuring  an  education  for  the  purpose  of  qualifying 
him  as  the  spiritual  instructer  of  his  countrymen,  will 
be  able,  through  the  bounty  of  Episcopalians  and 
others,  principally  in  the  city  of  New- York,  and  through 
the  aid  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  to 
attain  his  object.'* 

On  this  occasion  he  held  confirmation,  also, 
in  their  forest  church,  confirming,  of  the  native 
race,  fifty-six,  all  of  whom  had  been  previously 
instructed  and  prepared  for  receiving  it  by 
'  brother  Williams,'  their  teacher  and  catechist. 

The  last  pang  of  wounded  friendship  was 
now  to  be  borne,  in  the  official  publication  to  the 
Convention  of  the  final  sentence  on  him  who 
had  so  long  been  his  friend  and  associate  ;  it  is 
recorded  in  few  words,  and  concludes  with  a 
certain  emphatic  brevit}!^,  as  if  some  might  have 
doubted   his  firmness  in  carrying  the  sentence 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1819,  p.  21. 
T  12 


486  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

into  execution  ; — '  He  has  been   degraded  by 
me  from  the  ministry.' 

The  missionary  cause  he  again  pleads  with 
his  usual  earnestness. 

'  In  my  visitations  of  the  Diocese,  I  have  seen  many 
places  "  white  unto  the  harvest,"  but  there  were  no 
laborers  to  "  put  in  the  sickle."  I  have  had  my  feelings 
often  awakened  by  the  anxious  inquiry  of  those  who, 
from  the  paucity  of  their  numbers,  and  the  inadequacy 
of  their  means,  are  unable  to  procure  the  ministrations 
of  the  word  and  ordinances.  Can  you  not  supply  us 
with  missionary  services,  and  thus  establish  among  us 
the  Church  to  which  we  are  attached?  And  I  have 
been  compelled  to  depress  their  earnest  desires  by  an 
answer  in  the  negative.'  * 


& 


Again — 

'  My  Brethren,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  I  see  the  contri- 
butions of  Episcopalians  extended  to  religious  institutions 
not  immediately  connected  with  their  own  Church.  I 
see  their  bounty  flowing  in  channels  that  convey  it  to 
earth's  remotest  ends  ;  and  yet  many  of  their  fellow 
Episcopalians  in  this  State  are  destitute  of  the  ministra- 
tions and  ordinances  of  the  Church,  and  unable,  from 
their  poverty,  to  procure  them.  Many  of  their  own 
clergy  are  laboring  as  missionaries  on  a  scanty  stipend, 
which,  from  the  inadequacy  of  the  Missionary  Fund, 
must  be  reduced.  It  would  be  presumptuous,  and  it 
would  be  useless  for  me   to  attempt  to  control    their 

*  Journal  of  Convention.  1819.  p.  19. 


BISHOP     HOB  A  R  T,  48* 

bounty.  But  having  seen  and  felt,  being  perpetually 
called  to  see  and  feel  the  spiritual  wants  of  many  of 
those  of  whom  I  have  the  charge,  may  I  not  be  permit- 
ted, in  the  strong  impulse  of  duty,  to  ask — If  the 
bounty  of  Episcopalians  now  generally  distributed, 
were  confined  to  their  own  household,  till  the  wants  of 
that  household  were  supplied  ;  if  their  contributions  for 
religious  purposes  were  bestowed  on  Missionary  and  on 
Bible  and  Common  Prayer-book  Societies,  and  other 
institutions  under  the  exclusive  control  of  their  own 
Church,  would  they  violate  any  apostolic  precept  ;  any 
dictate  of  a  sound  and  enlightened  benevolence  ;  or  fail 
in  the  duty  of  extending  in  its  purest  form  the  king- 
dom of  the  Redeemer  ? '  * 

The  power  of  the  Liturgy  in  preserving,  not 
only  the  forms,  hut  the  spirit  of  religion,  in  the 
absence  of  other  means  of  grace,  was  a  point, 
too,  the  Bishop  often  dwelt  upon,  for  he  often 
witnessed  its  happy  exemplification.  In  his 
address  of  this  year  he  notices  two  instances 
that  had  fallen  under  his  own  observation. 

'  In  the  state  of  the  church  at  Utica,  I  received  a 
strong  evidence  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  continuing 
the  service  in  destitute  congregations,  by  means  of  lay 
reading.  That  congregation  for  more  than  a  year  has 
been  deprived  of  ministerial  services ;  and  yet,  by  the 
judicious  attention  and  exertions  of  some  of  their  own 
number,  who,  without  interfering  with  the  ministerial 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1819,  p  20. 


488  MEMOIROf 

functions,  kept  the  church  open,  by  readmg  prayers  and 
a  sermon,  and  extended  their  counsel  and  care  to  their 
brethren  of  the  congregation,  and  particularly  to  the 
young,  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Church  have  been 
preserved  from  serious  injury. 

The  church  at  Paris  may  be  mentioned  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  same  sentiment.  That  congregation  was 
originally  formed  by  Church  people  from  the  State  of 
Connecticut  ;  and  though,  for  between  twenty  and 
thirty  years,  enjoying  only  the  occasional  labors  of  the 
ministry,  they  have  met  every  Sunday  for  worship  ;  and 
firm  in  their  attachment  to  the  distinguishing  principles 
of  the  Church,  they  have  not  only  remained  in  undi- 
minished numbers,  but  have  sent  forth  a  small  band, 
who  now  compose  the  congregation  at  Smithfield,  in 
Lenox.  I  have  often  visited  them  in  their  humble 
edifice,  of  the  dimensions  and  appearance  of  a  school- 
house,  and  witnessed  and  enjoyed  the  primitive  order 
and  devotion  with  which  they  offered  their  supplications 
and  praises.  I  recently  visited  them,  and  enjoyed  the 
same  scene,  under  circumstances  more  inspiring,  in  the 
neat  and  commodious  edifice  which  their  pious  liberality, 
humble  as  are  comparatively  their  means,  has  erected.'  * 

To  these  the  author  is  tempted  to  add  two 
other  instances  illustrative  of  the  blessing  that 
may  attend  the  gift  of  a  Prayer-book.  It  is  not 
a  little  singular,  that  two  of  our  living  bishops 
were  made  Churchmen,  in  their  youth,  by  such 
a  present.  The  first  is  thus  related  by  Bishop 
Doane. 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  1819,  pp.  21,  22. 


B  I  S  II  O  P     II  0  B  A  R  T.  489 

'A  young  man,  a  graduate  of  one  of  our  Southern 
colleges,  was  elected  to  a  tutorship.  As  tutor,  it  was 
his  duty  to  conduct  the  morning  devotions  of  the  chapel. 
He  was  not  then  a  religious  man.  As  he  himself  told 
me,  he  did  not  know  how  to  pray.  It  was  a  most  irk- 
some, and  it  must  he  feared,  an  unprofitable  task.  A 
friend  had  compassion  on  him,  and  gave  him  a  Prayer- 
book.  It  was  the  first  that  he  had  ever  seen,  and  it 
rendered  that  easy,  which  before  was  difficult  and  un- 
satisfactory. I  know  not  how  long  after  this  it  was  that 
he  attached  himself  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  But  I 
know  that  that  young  man  is  now  the  Bishop  of  Ten- 
nessee.' 

Of  t];e  second,  the  story  will  not  be.  deemed 
out  of  place,  inasmuch,  as  the  receiver  of  it 
afterward  became  to  Bishop  Hobart  a  son  by 
marriage,  and,  as  the  present  writer  was  the 
giver  of  it,  he  will  tell  it  in  his  own  words. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1810,  while  travel- 
ling through  bad  roads  and  new  settlements,  in 
one  of  the  northern  counties  of  the  State  of 
New-York,  the  carriage  broke  down,  and  the 
travellers  took  refuge,  while  it  was  repairing,  in 
a  small,  but  neat,  neighboring  farm-house.  On 
quitting  their  temporary  shelter,  the  author 
presented  to  the  son  of  their  hostess,  a  pleasing 
boy  of  some  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  a 
Prayer-book  he  chanced  to  have  with  him,  as 
some  acknowledgment  of  the  kindness  with 
which  they  had.  been  received. 


490  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  F 

Years  rolled  on,  and  the  trifling  incident  had 
long  been  forgotten  by  the  giver,  when  he  was 
one  day  courteously  addressed,  while  travelling 
4^J._.steamboat  on  the  Hudson,  by  a  young  stu- 
dent of  divinity  from  the  Seminary.  Upon  the 
author's  evincing  tliat  his  new  acquaintance 
was  unknown  to  him, — '  Sir,'  said  the  young 
man,  '  you  ought  to  know  me,  for  it  was  you 
that  made  me  a  Churchman.  The  Prayer- 
book  you  gave  me  (he  here  recalled  the  cir- 
cumstance) made  me  what  I  am.  My  mother 
had  been  brought  up  in  the  Church,  but  our 
removal  to  the  new  settlements  had  long  sepa- 
rated us  from  it ;  that  Prayer-book  renewed  her 
love  for  the  Church  and  awakened  mine.' 

Little  more  need  be  told.  The  course  begun 
under  such  happy  auspices,  with  God's  bless- 
ing, went  on  and  prospered,  and  that  youth  is 
now  one  of  the  firmest  pillars  of  our  American 
Church  —  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  (Ives)  of 
North-Carolina.  In  thus  making  use  of  his 
name  and  story,  the  author  feels  secure  of  his 
forgiveness  on  the  score  of  the  good  cause  it  is 
brought  to  advance. 

The  Bishop's  address  concludes  with  an  earnest 
exhortation  to  ministers  to  preach  the  Church 
in  connection  with  the  Gospel.  He  is  to  preach 
the  doctrines  of  the  sinfulness  and  guilt  of  man, 
and  of  his  salvation  only  through  the  merits 


B  I  S  H  OP     H  0  B  A  RT.  491 

and  grace  of  a  Divine  Mediator ;  for  that  is  the 
cardinal  duty  of  the  Christian  minister,  without 
which  his  preaching  would  be  but  '  sounding 
brass  and  a  tinkUng  cymbal;'  but  then  he  is 
finther  to  preach  communion  with  the  mystical 
body  of  Christ,  througli  union  with  his  visible 
Church. 


'  This  may  not,  indeed,  be  the  path  which  will  con- 
duct him  to  that  praise  which  cometh  from  men  :  they 
will  often  rank  these  distinguishing  principles  among 
the  non-essentials  of  Christianity,  the  things  of  indiffer- 
ence which  contracted  and  deluded  bigots  alone  will 
inculcate  or  receive.  It  will  not  obtain  for  him  the 
praise  of  that  liberality  which  is  the  idol  to  which  the 
world  (for  the  world  must  always  iiave  an  idol)  is  now 
rendering  homage.  But  he  can  humbly  trust  that  it 
will  secure  for  him  the  approbation  of  that  Master  by 
whom  he  and  the  world  are  to  be  judged  ;  and  support- 
ed by  this  confidence,  he  can  rise  superior  to  the  plau- 
dits of  the  world,  and  to  its  scoffs  and  its  persecutions. 
For  he  believes  that  in  inculcating  the  distinguishing 
principles  of  his  Church,  in  union  Avith  those  great 
doctrines  which  are  common  to  the  body  of  professing 
Christians,  he  fulfils  his  momentous  duty  of  "  seeking 
for  Christ's  sheep  that  are  dispersed  abroad,"  and  of 
bringing  them  into  that  "fold  in  which  they  will  be 
saved  through  Christ  for  ever." 

Brethren  of  the  Clergy, — the  Christian  minister  who 
is  emulous  of  the  praise  of  men,  need  not  covet,  in  the 
judgment  of  him  who  addresses  you,  a  higher  com- 
mendation  than   that  which    is   bestowed   on    Bishop 


49  }  M  E  x\I  O  I  R     OF 

Horsley  by  the  profound  scholar  and  eminent  prelate, 
who  is  now  carrying  the  light  of  our  apostolic  Church 
to  the  regions  of  the  East,  Bishop  Middleton — that  he 
ran  "'  a  glorious  though  unpopular  career  in  an  heretical 
and  apostate  age." 

But  after  all,  to  the  Christian  minister,  how  poor  is 
the  praise  of  men — wherein  is  it  to  be  accounted  of? 
"  There  is  One  that  judgeth  him,  even  the  Lord."  '  * 

In  addition  to  his  address  to  the  Convention, 
Bishop  Hobart  again  delivered  a  '  Charge '  to  the 
clergy,  being  the  third  addressed  to  them  ;  this 
appeared  in  print  immediately  after,  under  the 
title  of  '  The  Churchman  ;  his  Principles  stated 
and  defended  ; '  and  is,  unquestionably,  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  he  ever  delivered.  To  Bishop 
Hobart  this  year  was,  in  truth,  a  crisis,  and  he 
felt  it  to  be  so.  His  opposition  to  Bible  Societies, 
as  his  views  in  relation  to  them  had  been  falsely 
termed,  had  raised  against  him  a  perfect  hue  and 
cry,  of 'bigotry' and  'illiberality.'  Underthe  dread 
of  unpopularity,  or  led  away  by  the  current  of 
excitement,  some,  among  Churchmen,  fell  away 
from  him  ;  man}^  stood  aloof  and  were  silent ; 
few  gathered  round  him  in  full  sympathy  and 
confidence.  It  was  such  an  emergency  as  throws 
a  man  upon  his  principles,  and,  it  may  be  added, 
tries  them  too.     He,  therefore,  came  forth  upon 

*  Journal  of  Convention.  1819,  p.  23. 


B  I  S  H  O  P     H  O  B  A  R  T.  49S 

the  subject  with  more  than  his  usual  fearless- 
ness, and  the  whole  'Charge'  maybe  safely 
commended  to  the  reader  as  a  most  eloquent 
and  triumphant  defence  of  the  unpopular  course 
he  had  chosen.  While  others  boasted  of  the  times 
as  being  the  '  age  of  liberality,'  he  exhibited 
it  as  the  age  of  indifference,  and  pointed 
out  how  such  result  must  necessarily  follow 
whenever  Christians  extend  to  opinions  that 
charity  which,  in  its  true  sense,  has  reference 
only  to  men.  '  Such  a  principle,'  said  he, 
*  Churchmen  cannot  adopt,  without  treachery  to 
the  Church  and  to  their  JUaster.^ 

After  an  exposition  of  the  ministry  of  th& 
Church,  as  connected  with  the  Episcopal  order, 
he  goes  on  to  add,  in  the  lofty  tone  of  one  who 
feels  that  he  fights  against  the  multitude. 

'  These  opinions  may  not  now  be  popular.  And  yet 
they  were  popular ;  they  were  the  only  principles  recog- 
nised in  those  ages  when  Christian  faith  was  most  pure, 
Christian  morals  most  holy,  and  the  Christian  Church 
most  united.  For  the  three  first  centuries  the  Chris- 
tian Church  knew  no  other  opinions.  Opposition  to 
them  is  of  modern  origin.  The  Christian  fathers 
inculcate  them  in  every  page  of  their  writings.  We 
hold  them,  my  fellow  Churchman,  with  "  the  goodly 
company  of  the  apostles,"  and  with  "  the  noble  army 
of  martyrs."  Let  not  Papal  advocates,  asserting  those 
claims  of  Papal  supremacy,  of  which  the  primitive  fa- 
thers uttered  not  a  word,  drive  us  from  Episcopacy,  tltc 

U  u 


494  MEMOIROF 

true  principle  of  Church  unity,  into  the  usurped  domains 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.  Let  not  the  clamors  of  our 
Protestant  brethren,  who  are  unfortunately  destitute  of 
the  primitive  bond  of  Church  union  in  the  order  of 
bishops,  intimidate  us  from  avowing  and  acting  on  the 
principle  which  the  Churchman  in  every  age  has 
avowed  and  acted  upon  ;  and  which  one  of  the  first 
bishops  of  the  Christian  Church,  a  disciple  of  an  apostle, 
the  venerable  martyr  Ignatius,  lays  down,  "  Let  no  man 
do  any  thing  of  what  belongs  to  the  Church  without 
the  bishop." '  * 

During  the  course  of  this  year,  (1819,)  he 
was  assisting  at  two  consecrations  ;  the  first 
was  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  February  11th, 
of  the  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  D.  D.,  for  the 
newly-constituted  Diocese  of  Ohio.  The  second 
was,  on  27th  October,  in  the  city  of  New- 
Haven,  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Brownell,  at 
the  time  an  Assistant  Minister  of  Trinity 
Church,  New- York,  for  the  vacant  Diocese  of 
Connecticut.  By  this  act  the  duties  of  Bishop 
Hobart  toward  that  Diocese  were  closed. 

In  resigning  to  the  Convention  his  temporary 
charge,  which  he  did  immediately  after  the  act 
of  consecration.  Bishop  Hobart  alluded,  in  elo- 
quent and  feeling  terms,  to  the  individual  into 
whose  hands,  as  their  permanent  Diocesan,  bo 
was  now  to  deliver  it ;  one  who,  as  his  presby- 
ter and  immediate  assistant,  *  had  long  enjoyed 

♦  Charge  to  the  Clergy,  181G,  p.  29. 


BISHOP     HOBA  R  T.  495 

that  confidence  which  his  virtues  and  his  talents 
merit,'  and  who,  he  adds,  '  will  now  accept  my 
earnest  prayers  that  the  blessing  of  that  Divine 
Master  who  has  this  day  received  his  vows, 
may  attend  him  in  that  arduous  sphere  of  duty 
upon  which  he  now  enters.' 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Bronson  then  followed  in  be- 
half of  the  Convention,  addressing  their  new 
Diocesan,  and  was  answered  by  him  as  a  Chris- 
tian must  ever  speak  under  a  right  sense  of  so 
great  a  spiritual  responsibility  as  is  involved  in 
that  office.  This  imposing  and  affecting  scene 
closed  by  all  uniting  in  that  holy  communion^ 
which  is  the  choicest  emblem  of  brotherly  love, 
as  well  as  channel  of  all  Christian  graces. 

In  closing  the  notice  of  this  temporary  charge 
of  Bishop  Hobart's,  the  following  incident  may 
be  mentioned  as  illustrative  of  his  promptness 
and  decision  of  purpose  whenever  principles 
were  concerned,  however  painful  the  decision  ; 
no  wonder,  too,  that  he  should  be  so  anxious  on 
the  score  of  the  fitness  of  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  when  he  found  it  so  difficult  to  manage 
with  unworthy  members. 

^Among  the  clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Connec- 
ticut, during  its  vacant  Episcopate,  was  one,* 
whose  orders  having  been  obtained,  from  Bishop 

♦  Ammi  Rogers. 


496  M  E  M  O  I  R     O  P 

Provoost  of  New-York,  through  the  means  of 
forged,  certificates,  was  subsequently  revoked, 
and  himself  degraded,  by  an  act,  in  the  absence 
of  diocesan  authority,  of  the  united  House  of 
Bishops.  In  defiance,  however,  of  their  jurisdic- 
tion, to  which  he  was  amenable,  perhaps,  rather 
by  courtesy  than  canon,  he  continued  to  offi- 
ciate, and  his  congregation  to  sustain  him  in 
his  contumacy.  From  a  willingness,  as  the 
Bishop  thought,  to  submit  themselves  to  Epis- 
copal authority,  but,  as  the  event  proved,  to 
entrap  him  into  some  recognition  of  their  irre- 
gular pastor,  the  Vestry  addressed  to  Bishop 
Hobart  a  request  that  he  would  include  their 
church  in  his  annual  visitation  of  the  Diocese ; 
he  promptly  replied  in  the  aflftrmative,  but 
added,  that  it  must  be  as  a  vacant  church. 

He  went  accordingly,  reaching  it  at  the  pre- 
scribed hour  of  service,  but,  on  alighting  from 
the  carriage,  at  the  church  door,  was  re- 
ceived by  the  preacher  himself  in  his  sacer- 
dotal robes,  surrounded  by  the  leading  persons 
of  the  congregation.  The  decision  to  which  he 
found  himself  thus  suddenly  called,  was  a  pain- 
ful as  well  as  a  critical  one — legal  rights  he 
there  had  none — if  he  entered  the  church,  he 
placed  himself  within  the  power  of  its  unworthy 
occupant — to  withhold  the  services  he  came  to 
give  seemed  to  be  unchristian — to  proceed  with 


BISHOP     HOBART.  407 

them  was  to  sanction  hi^h  disorder.  His  choice 
was  quickly  made — he  returned  to  his  carriage- 
It  was  a  mark  of  condemnation  which  went 
beyond  admonition.  Some,  indeed,  cried  out 
ftorainst  it  as  harsh  and  unchristian,  but  it 
awakened  the  majority- to  a  better  judgment; 
and  they  soon  after  dismissed  their  irregular 
and  undeserving  minister. 

It  is  due  to  the  Bishop's  memory,  as  well  as 
to  the  feelings  with  w^iich  his  name  is  still 
cherished  in  the  Diocese,  to  record  the  acknow- 
ledgment then  made  of  his  services  in  it. 

TO  BISHOP  HOBART. 

'  Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir, 

We  have  the  honor  to  tender  you  the  thanks  of  the 
Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Diocese  of  Connecticut,  for  those  temporary  services 
which  are  this  day  terminated  by  the  consecration  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Brownell  to  the  Episcopate  of  this  Diocese. 

In  performing  this  duty  you  will  permit  us  to  express 
the  high  sense  entertained  by  the  Convention,  by  our- 
selves, and  by  the  Church  generally,  of  the  distinguished 
benefits  which  have  resulted  from  your  provisional  con- 
nection with  the  Diocese.  When  we  reflect  on  the  sacri- 
fices which  you  made,  and  the  labors  which  you  incur- 
red, in  adding  the  care  of  the  Church  in  this  State  to  the 
arduous  duties  which  devolved  on  you,  in  the  large  and 
extensive  Diocese  of  New- York  ;  when  we  consider  that 
the  sacrifice  was  made,  and  these  labors  undertaken, 
without  any  view  to  pecuniary  compensation ;  and  when 


498  MEMOIR     OF 

we  call  to  mind  the  eminent  services  which  you  have 
rendered,  the  new  impulse  which  your  visitations  have 
given  to  our  zeal,  and  the  general  success  which  has 
attended  the  exercise  of  your  Episcopal  functions,  we 
feel  bound  to  offer  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  and 
supreme  Disposer  of  all  things,  our  sincere  and  heartfelt 
acknowledgment  of  the  distinguished  blessings  which 
he  has  been  pleased  to  confer  upon  us,  through  the  me- 
dium of  your  services.  We  shall  ever  cherish  a  grate- 
ful recollection  of  these  services.  And  although  we  are 
no  longer  connected  by  official  ties,  we  indulge  a  hope 
that  there  may  be  no  diminution  of  the  friendship  and 
affection  which  have  grown  out  of  your  occasional 
visitations  among  us. 

Accept,  Right  Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  from  ourselves  per- 
sonally, and  from  the  body  in  whose  behalf  we  address 
you,  the  assurances  of  our  highest  respect  ;  and  permit 
us  to  add,  that  it  is  with  sentiments  of  the  most  cordial 
esteem,  that  we  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell. 

Harry  Croswell, 
Nathan  Smith, 
S.  W.  Johnson.' 


"With  this  record  the  author  must  terminate, 
for  the  present,  at  least,  the  *  Professional  Years' 
of  Bishop  Hobart.  Though  not  all,  they  com- 
prehend, certainly,  the  most  active  and  ener- 
getic, because  the  most  healthful  portion  of 
them.  Within  a  short  period  after  the  date  at 
which  they  here  close,  symptoms  of  a  failing 
constitution  began   to   appear   in   him,    which 


BISHOP     HOBART.  49D 

resulted,  after  a  time,  in  such  severe  and 
repeated  attacks  of  disease  as  to  render  neces- 
sary, not  only  a  voyage  to  Europe,  but  a  long 
sojourn  there,  as  the  only  chance  of  restoration 
to  health.  Four  years  of  renewed  official  energy 
followed  his  return  ;  but  it  was  the  energy  of 
the  sword  wearing  out  its  scabbard,  or,  to  use 
language  more  just  and  appropriate  to  the  Chris- 
tian, it  was  the  energy  of  a  soul  that  labored 
the  more  earnestly  in  proportion  as  it  felt  that 
its  days  of  labor  were  numbered.  One  touching 
speech  of  his,  illustrative  of  this  feeling,  the 
author  cannot  but  here  anticipate.  Oh  parting 
from  his  home,  on  that  visitation  from  which  he 
did  not  live  to  return,  in  answer  to  the  anxious 
and  oft  expressed  fears  of  his  wife,  that  he  was 
*  doing  too  much,'  his  simple  and  touching 
reply  was,  '  How  can  I  do  too  much  for  that 
compassionate  Saviour  who  has  done  so  much 
for  me  ? ' 

Whether  the  narrative  of  those  '  Closing  Years ' 
shall  be  added  to  the  present,  depends  on  the 
estimate  that  may  be  made  by  the  author  of  the 
good  to  be  effected  by  its  publication,  and  that 
again  must  be  predicated  upon  the  reception  of 
the  present  volume.  It  has  grown  to  a  bulk  far 
beyond  the  author's  original  intention,  and, 
doubtless,  labors  under  many  defects  both  of 
matter  and  arrangement  which   more    leisure 


500  MEMOIR    OF    BISHOP    HOBART. 

might  have  enabled  him  to  amend.  Such  as  it 
is,  however,  he  puts  it  forth,  in  the  humble  trust 
that  it  may  subserve,  in  some  small  degree,  that 
good  cause  to  which  the  life  it  commemorates 
was  so  wholly  devoted.  But  he  has  a  further 
hope,  though  one  of  minor  importance, — it  is, 
that  it  may  prove  to  others,  in  its  perusal,  what  it 
has  been  to  him  in  preparing  it,  no  unwelcome 
labor,  or,  at  any  rate,  labor  made  light  and  pro- 
fitable by  the  nearer  contemplation  it  affords  of 
the  generous  heart,  and  warm  affections,  and 
ardent  piety,  and  intrepid  faithfulness,  of  such 
a  man  and  Christian  as  John  Henry  Hobar't. 


THE    END. 


Date  Due 


IN  U.  S.  A. 


^ffiiiim.te.'f?,^'"'  Seminary  Librari 


1    1012  01235   4447 


es 


*l^^ 


